Category: History

The Secret History of Yoga

 

Yoga ears composite 3

 

Hearing ear

To mark UN International Yoga Day Mukti Jain Campion sets out to explore the roots of modern yoga practice and uncovers an extraordinary multicultural history in which early 20th century European ideas of health, fitness and the cult of the Body Beautiful became intertwined with Indian nationalism and the revival of Indian interest in its own traditions of physical culture. Out of this heady mix emerged a new generation of yoga innovators who transformed an obsolete and frowned-upon practice of Indian holy men into something that would appeal to masses of ordinary people around the world. (1 x 28′)

First broadcast BBC Radio 4 June 2016 & BBC World Service July 2016

Contributors include: Mark Singleton Author, Yoga Body: The origins of modern posture practice Dr Jim Mallinson Yoga historian, School of Oriental and African Studies, London Dr Manmath Gharote, Lonavla Yoga Institute, India Dr Suzanne Newcombe, The London School of Economics

Readers: Tim Pigott-Smith and Denise Stephenson

Producer Mukti Jain Campion

 

Radio Choice: The Times, The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail

   Mukti Jain Campion’s fine documentary about the gaps and changes in our perception of yoga – Gillian Reynolds, The Daily Telegraph 17/06/16

 

What’s behind the five popular poses loved by the world? 

Sugar, Saris and Green Bananas

1.Sugar in my blood  London-born journalist Lainy Malkani delves into her family’s roots and discovers the rich but bitter-sweet history of Indian indentured labourers on Caribbean sugar plantations.

2.Indo-Guyanese and proud Prompted by her mother’s death, Lainy explores what migrating to Britain from the sugar plantations of Guyana meant for her family.

(2 x 28′)

Hearing ear

First broadcast September 2015 BBC Radio 4

Contributors include: Peter Fraser, Professor Clem Seecheran,  Victor Jeevan Sookaram and Raymond Rahiman

Producer: Mukti Jain Campion

Radio choice: The Mail on Sunday, The Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph

An Indian in Bloomsbury

 

Photo by Marilyn StaffordMukti Jain Campion celebrates the life of Mulk Raj Anand, the founding father of Indian Literature in English and author of the classic novel Untouchable. Anand was a follower of Gandhi and a passionate campaigner for Indian independence, but, surprisingly, his literary career actually began amongst the fashionable intellectuals of The Bloomsbury Group in 1920s London. (1 x 28′)

First broadcast   February 2004  BBC Radio 4

Readings by Roshan Seth

Producer Mukti Jain Campion

 

Powerful and revealing– Sue Arnold, The Observer

 

Contributors include: Dr Alistair Niven, Susheila Nasta, The Rt. Hon. Michael Foot, Pankaj Mishra, Dominic Rai of the Man Mela Theatre Company

Radio Choice: The Independent, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Mail on Sunday, The Daily Mail, The Observer

Radio 4 Pick of the Week

Photo courtesy of Marilyn Stafford

Lights, Camera, Akshun!

 

lcaAs Bollywood celebrates its centenary, Sanjeev Bhaskar reveals how three of the most influential figures of early Indian cinema began their careers on the stages and screens of London’s West End: screenwriter Niranjan Pal, producer/actor Himansu Rai and actress Devika Rani. Their films include the pioneering feature-length silent epic The Light of Asia which received a Royal Command screening at Windsor Castle in 1926. (1 x 28′)

First broadcast  November 2013  BBC Radio 4

Contributors: Stephen Hughes, Ian Christie, Lalit and Kusum Joshi, Joyojeet Pal, Cary Sawhney and Kishwar Desai

Readings by Sagar Arya

Associate Producer Suman Bhuchar    Producer Mukti Jain Campion

Radio choice: The Radio Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Times and the Observer, The Metro

One of those short but intriguing features that takes a subject you think you know all about and subverts your expectations  – the Spectator review

At just 30 minutes, Lights, Camera, Akshun! has more to inform than many programmes twice the length, plus the distinct advantage of a presenter, Sanjeev Bhaskar, who sounds genuinely fascinated by the archive material it contains. –  The Stage review

 

A Celestial Star in Piccadilly

 

csAnna Chen pays tribute to her heroine, Hollywood screen idol Anna Mae Wong, star of the classic 1929 movie Piccadilly. On the occasion of the film’s 80th anniversary she celebrates its glamorous star and explores the impact Wong made during her time in Britain. (1 x 28′)

First broadcast  January 2009 BBC Radio 4

Contributors include: biographer Graham Gao Hodges, composer Neil Brand, film historians Kevin Brownlow and Jasper Sharp, actor Alice Lee, cultural anthropologist Diana Yeh, film makers Elaine Mae Woo and Ed Manwell.

Producer Chris Eldon Lee

Radio Choice: The Guardian, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and the Independent

Radio 4 Pick of the Week

 

Black Screen Britain

Actor Burt Caesar presents two programmes exploring how British film and television drama from the 1950s to the 1970s portrayed the lives of African-Caribbean immigrants. (2 x 28′)

First Broadcast  March – April  2009   BBC Radio 4

1: Ambassadors for the Race  The pioneering black actors who made their names in  A Man from the Sun, Fable, Pool of London, Flame in the Streets and Jemima and Johnny.

2: Reclaiming Our Image  Burt Caesar charts the landmark screen dramas such as Pressure, Empire Road and Burning an Illusion which presented an alternative view of black lives in Britain during the 1970s.

Contributors include: actors Earl Cameron CBE, Mona Hammond, Cy Grant, Joan Hooley, Rudolph Walker, writer Michael Abbensetts, film makers John Akomfrah OBE, Menelek Shabazz, Alrick Riley, commentators June Givanni, Dr Jim Pines and Baroness Lola Young.

Producer Mukti Jain Campion

Radio Choice: The Guardian, the Observer, The Independent & The Times.

Radio 4 Pick of the Week

Most of the films discussed in this series can be viewed free of charge at the BFI Southbank’s Mediatheque in London or at the Quad in Derby

Bone in the Kebab

 

bitk“Theatre should be like a bone in the kebab: unexpected, and with bite.”– Jatinder Verma, Director Tara Arts

To mark the 25th anniversary of the pioneering company Tara Arts, Mukti Jain Campion presents two programmes exploring the distinctive contribution of British Asian theatre.(2 x 28′)

First broadcast February 2002  BBC Radio 4

Contributors: Jatinder Verma, Sudha Buchar and Kristine Landon-Smith, Shobana Jeyasingh, Nina Wadia, Sir Richard Eyre, Vincent Ebrahim, Naseem Khan and Dominic Rai.

Producer Mukti Jain Campion

An enthralling survey of British Asian life over the past quarter of a century – Paul Donovan, The Sunday Times

 

1: Acting Ourselves From its explicitly political beginning in the wake of the killing of a Sikh schoolboy in Southall, Tara Arts has charted the story of the Asian presence in Britain, warts and all.

2: Ghetto Blasters? The British Asian theatre scene has never been a more vibrant showcase for British Asian theatre talent, talent which is now reaching out to new audiences through TV and film as well as the stage.

Radio Choice: The Independent, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times,The Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, Time Out, Radio Times

Radio 4 Pick of the Week

Chinese in Britain

cibA landmark series in which Anna Chen explores the early history of the Chinese presence in Britain (10 x 14′)

First broadcast April – May 2007    BBC Radio 4

Readings by David Tse Ka-shing

Producer Mukti Jain Campion

  1. The First Chinese VIPs: the earliest recorded Chinese to arrive in Britain
  2. The Creation of Chinatown: the myth and reality
  3. From Ship to Shore: experiences of Chinese seamen in Britain
  4. Steam and Starch: life in a Chinese laundry
  5. Educated in Britain: the history of Chinese students
  6. Feet unbound: pioneering Chinese Women in Britain
  7. Mixed Blessings: growing up half Chinese
  8. Artistic Pursuits: stepping out on Britain’s cultural landscape
  9. Screen Beginnings: the first British Chinese screen actors
  10. Peking Duck and Chips: early Chinese restaurants

Each episode sounded effortless only because it had been crafted with such supreme care.  – Gillian Reynolds, The Daily Telegraph

Visit the BBC series website

Original interviews have been archived with the British Library  accession number C1353

Radio Choice: The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Scotsman, Time Out, Daily Mail, The Independent 

Radio 4  Pick of the Week

Chopsticks At Dawn

 

Anna Chen reducedWhy is it that Chinese decorative arts are revered in the West, but composers from Debussy to George Formby have constantly parodied  “Chinese” music? Comedian Anna Chen investigates. (1 x 28′)

First broadcast June 2010  BBC Radio 4

Contributors: musicologist Dr Jonathan Walker; Derek Scott, professor of Music at Leeds University; Rachel Harris of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and contemporary musicians Ben Chan, Jane Ng and Liz and Sarah Liew of Chi2

Producer  Chris Eldon Lee

Radio Choice:   Radio Times, The Observer, The Sunday Telegraph, The Mail on Sunday, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Time Out, The Stage

Christmas Spirits

xsAn eerie tale of a Christmas night 50 years ago with remarkable recordings of eye witness accounts of apparently visible and tactile communication between the living and the dead. (1 x 28′)

First broadcast December 2003  BBC Radio 4

Producer Chris Eldon Lee

Radio Choice: The Sunday Telegraph

Radio 4 Pick of the Week