Benefit Voku: other indias

Monday 14 august 2023, Benefit Voku: other indias. Food served from 7pm, no reservation.

Join us on 14th August to mark 76 years of independence in India and Pakistan, and the one-year anniversary of other indias.

We will cook our favourite street food: Pav Bhaji. We will also host a reading session led by artist Rajyashri Goody, followed by songs of resistance.

Funds raised will go toward helping other indias continue to organise more interesting events.

other indias is a socio-political and cultural collective in the making for movements, experiences and voices that are generous to the cause of collective liberation in/of the Indian sub-continent* and its people. We are a small group of volunteers based in the Netherlands working to find ways to care for each other better; despite our differences, because of our differences.

Volkseten Vegazulu is a people’s kitchens existing since the very beginning of Joe’s Garage, June 2005. Your donations are welcome. Food is vegan, no reservation. All benefits go to social & political struggles. Joe’s Garage is a space run by volunteers. Without a collective effort, without your active participation, we’re remaining closed. Get in touch in you feel like giving a hand. We’re always looking for cooks. Any help is welcome in the kitchen. Experience not required. If you want to know which days are still available, mail us.

Freedom of Press & Nationalism in India: Discussion & Movie night: Gauri (documentary by Kavitha Lankesh)

Sunday 25 june 2023, Freedom of Press & Nationalism in India: Discussion & Movie night: Gauri (documentary by Kavitha Lankesh, 70 min). Doors open at 18:45. Online discussion with film director from 7pm. Film starts at 8pm.

There were more than 200 reported attacks on journalists in India in the last 5 years, and 30 journalists murdered in the last decade. India’s rank on the Global Press Freedom Index 2023 is an abysmal 161 out of 180 countries. Attacks on dissenters and journalists are unfortunately neither new, nor limited to India. But the intensity of attacks in the last decade is something to be concerned about.

On 5th September 2017, a prominent journalist and activist from India, Gauri Lankesh, was murdered, sending shock waves across the country and the rest of the world. “Gauri” is a documentary that juxtaposes the arc of her life with the rise of Hindu nationalism in India, and their confrontations. Directed by Kavitha Lankesh, her sister and International award winning director, “Gauri” won the “Best Long Documentary Award” at the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal, 2023.

The citation of the award reads “A brave and uncompromising pulse-taking of the current crisis in Indian politics, focusing on the 2017 political assassination of trailblazing Bengaluru journalist Gauri Lankesh. A “J’accuse” docu-thriller directed and narrated with verve by Gauri’s sister, Kavitha Lankesh”.

Kavitha will join us online for an interactive session prior to the screening at 7pm. Film starts at 8pm.

Screening hosted by other indias – a space for discussion, reflection and (cultural, political) action relating to contemporary India. other indias is working towards building and sustaining a community in the Netherlands which reflects the plurality and complexity of India, which respects differences and upholds a coalitional approach to overcoming inequalities.

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Free entrance. You want to screen a movie, let us know: joe [at] lists [dot] squat [dot] net

Benefit VoKu for fire victims in Mumbai’s “squatted” settlements

Monday 24 April 2023, Benefit VoKu for fire victims in Mumbai’s “squatted” settlements. Food served from 7pm, no reservation.

On 13th March, a fire broke out in one of Mumbai’s informal settlements called Appapada. Ground reports from activists state that 2000 families, or 10,000 people have lost their homes. Appapada, located amidst a forest, is home to the most socially marginalised communities of the city, including indigenous forest dwellers and other minorities. They have been struggling for their housing rights for decades, and faced several rounds of violent evictions from the state. This month, the poor living conditions in the settlements have once again been highlighted. Houses made of plastic sheets and scrap wood easily catch fire. Join us to raise money for replacing basic supplies of fire victims such as kitchenware, roof sheets, mats, clothes, sanitary napkins, and school books for children. All proceeds will go to Muse Foundation, a local youth group working directly with fire victims.

Food: Indian, vegan

Volkseten Vegazulu is a people’s kitchens existing since the very beginning of Joe’s Garage, June 2005. Your donations are welcome. Food is vegan, no reservation. All benefits go to social & political struggles. Joe’s Garage is a space run by volunteers. Without a collective effort, without your active participation, we’re remaining closed. Get in touch in you feel like giving a hand. We’re always looking for cooks. Any help is welcome in the kitchen. Experience not required. If you want to know which days are still available, mail us.

Movie night: Fight with Care (Bhargay & Ourratul Ain, 2023)

Sunday 19 March 2023, Other indias Watch Party #3. Movie night: Fight with Care (Bhargay & Ourratul Ain, 2023). Documentary film (30 mins) + discussion. This film is in Tamil with English subtitles. Doors open at 8:00 pm, film and presentation start at 8:30 pm. Films followed by discussion with one of the film maker.

Fight with Care brings unheard voices of fisherwomen from the coast of South India, who maintain their delicate ecosystems through everyday acts of care. As expanding ports and industries threaten wetland environments along the coasts of India, artisanal fishing communities are organising protests to bring attention to these ecologies, critical for climate change adaptation and local livelihoods. This film presents the anti-port actions of indigenous fisherwomen, raising their voices against one of the richest men in the world – Adani.

This watch party will be hosted by other indias – a space for discussion, reflection and (cultural, political) action relating to contemporary India. The watch parties constitute our monthly activities that are geared towards building and sustaining a community in the Netherlands which reflects the plurality and complexity of India, which respects differences and upholds a coalitional approach to overcoming inequalities.

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Free entrance. You want to screen a movie, let us know: joe [at] lists [dot] squat [dot] net