Why Bushra Ansari is an idiot, and why
artists coming from our region need sensitivity training
At the HDF fundraiser held on May 18,
Bushra Ansari, the star of the evening, may have amused the audience, but she
also put off a large number of people because of the way she picked on one of
her team members while introducing the two accompanying musicians: Robin John
on keyboard and Ashneel Singh on tabla.
Ashneel Singh is a fine tabla player. He is an American of Fijian descent. But all this detail was lost on Ms.
Ansari. For her, Ashneel Singh, with his
distinctly Sikh/Hindu name, was an Indian. And that was enough for her to ridicule
him. The quip was off-color—had
something to do with Indian musicians not knowing the Pakistani songs—but a
small segment of the audience, as uncouthed as Ms. Ansari, found it funny, and the
laughter was loud—visibly embarrassing Ashneel Singh. What an idiot Bushra
Ansari is! How dimwit an artist should
be to make the audience laugh at the expense of their own team-member, a
musician who with his work is trying to make them shine!
Back in South Asia newly minted and
constantly evolving Indian and Pakistani nationalisms clash. In Pakistan, nationalism has already been
hijacked by the religious elements and the triumphant--albeit sick--ideology
pushes for a Muslim-Pakistan, Hindu-India understanding of the South Asian
geography—gullible citizens take the venomous feed numbly.
As Pakistan gradually becomes more
'Muslim', many in India react and push for a 'Hindu' identity of India. The recent Indian election results tell us
which way things are headed. The
phenomenon fits the definition of self-fulfilling prophecy like a glove.
Whatever nonsense is going on in South
Asia, it must not be allowed to poison us here in North America. Artists coming
from that region must be trained to leave behind their biases and cheap jokes. Promoters need to provide sensitivity training
to the artists they bring out of the subcontinent. South Asian audience deserves performers who
conform to higher moral standards.
