Roadside Shrines: Christmas Cribs after WTC Attack
Duration: 00:21:21; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 29.741; Saturation: 0.165; Lightness: 0.255; Volume: 0.190; Cuts per Minute: 4.731; Words per Minute: 56.345
Summary: Christianity though claimed to be a monolithic religion, actually survives in many versions all over the world. In turn local practices and rituals, over the years, permeated into the fortress of the centralized religion. The first known sign of Christianity in the region of India was the arrival of St. Thomas, one of the 12 disciples of Christ, in Kerala in first century AD.
Christmas cribs are popularly known as tableaux of nativity (story of birth) of Jesus. In the year 1220 St. Francis of Assissi visited Bethlehem and witnessed the participatory way Christmas was celebrated there through these tableaux which recreated the birth of Jesus. He brought the ritual to Europe and then it spread all over the world. Though the cribs are religious, they are not essentially institutional. Any devotee can create a crib either in their houses or in public places or in the church. Setting up the manger figures is a favorite family activity. Children like to arrange the figures of Mary and Joseph in the stable, and the shepherds, animals and other figurines that are moved closer to the stable each day in anticipation of the arrival of baby Jesus. In many families, the figure of the Baby Jesus remains hidden until Christmas morning, when the children "discover" Him in the manger. It is also a custom to have the figures of the wise men begin their approach towards Bethlehem on Christmas Day after the star has appeared, to arrive at the stable.
Christmas cribs have become more part of the festivity than religion. In that sense it has become part of the local popular cultures. As a result, often the cribs demonstrate local flavours and sentiments instead of the linear story of nativity in the Bible. Making cribs in public places have also become a popular social activity for the neighbourhood youngsters.
This sequence was shot in Bombay during the Christmas of 2001, soon after the attack on WTC in New York and US invasion in Afghanistan. Overwhelming number of cribs referred to this development in their own ways. The cribs portrayed a curious mixture of traditional & kitsch and classical & contemporary. The young crib makers betrayed their own complex identity while interpreting the fall of WTC and the related events. A vague sense of Asian or third world identity made them sympathetic to the people of Afghanistan. At the same time their commitment to the Church made them critical about the alleged Islamic involvement in the violence of WTC attack. The young boys could not really articulate this complexity, but it was clearly evident in their works and words. However much the propaganda machine of George Bush had claimed that it was only ‘a war against terrorism’, these young boys in India understood the issue very well as a war against the Islamic Asia.
Christmas Crib in a church in Chakala, an old village near the airport. Many of the residents are Marathi speaking Christians who are popularly called East Indian. The village is now in the process of being extinct by the high speed of urban development. Once an agricultural area Chakala still retains a non-metropolitan aura.
The Christmas crib made by two teenagers, Samuel and Praveen, reflects their space and time – shanties, factories, shopping plaza, fish market and also Hindu temple create a replica of their neighbourhood where Mary and Joseph, in rich white complexion, live in their hut. There are also skyscrapers, one of them pierced by a toy plane. After only three and a half months of WTC collapse in New York, the image of a plane penetrating a skyscraper has achieved iconic status even in a sleepy neighbourhood in India.
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Marol
Mumbai
aeroplane
almightly
baby jesus
bethlehem
buildings
cardboard
celebration
christmas
crèche
crib
father
hay
infant
jesus
joseph
manger
miniature
models
mother mary
parish
priest
red-light
saviour
straw
strobe light
tehrmocol
towers
toy figurines
toy plane
toyland
Close up of the plastic plane on the cardboard skyscraper depicting the most publicized image of the century.
Al-Qaeda
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Homeland security
Marol
Mumbai
Patriot Act
September 11
World Trade Centre
afghanistan
combat operation
hatred
iraq war
mayhem
new york
osama bin laden
rebel forces
terrorism
terrorists
twin towers
war on terror
The architect of the crib fix the plane for the right effect.
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Marol
Mumbai
afghanistan
al-queda
combat operation
hatred
homeland security
iraq war
mayhem
new york
osama bin laden
patriot act
rebel forces
sept 11 2001
terror
terrorism
terrorists
twin towers
war on terror
wtc
Wall writing: Jesus Still Comes – Yesterday today Tomorrow. Under this assurance lie the shanty town.
This is like social science project where children in schools are told to make replica of cities using plaster of paris, colourful clay, thermocol and cardboard.
The combination of the paraphernalia used here and the social message underlined may sometimes be simplistic, but the effort and belief in improving themselves and making a memorable crib is genuine.
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Marol
Mumbai
aeroplane
almightly
baby jesus
bethlehem
buildings
cardboard
celebration
christmas
crèche
crib
father
hay
infant
jesus
joseph
manger
miniature
models
mother mary
parish
priest
red-light
saviour
straw
strobe light
tehrmocol
towers
toy figurines
toy plane
toyland
"I am the resurrection & the life" and In death life is changed not ended" – read on both sides of a gate to a cemetery. The cemetery is complete with vertically placed memorial plaques and the horizontally placed tombs as well as windmills made of sticks. A local cemetery or the memorial for the victims in America?
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Marol
Mumbai
aeroplane
almightly
baby jesus
bethlehem
buildings
cardboard
celebration
christmas
crèche
crib
father
hay
infant
jesus
joseph
manger
miniature
models
mother mary
parish
priest
red-light
saviour
straw
strobe light
tehrmocol
towers
toy figurines
toy plane
toyland
Small clips of the boys adjusting the various paraphernalia in their crib. Soldiers in army fatigue posing menacingly from the dark mountain top. The soldiers, the destruction, the war always make good visual. The simple nativity of Christ pales in comparison. Divinity, in popular imagination, cannot compete with the sight of mass violence.
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Marol
Mumbai
Small clips of the boys adjusting the various paraphernalia in their crib.
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Marol
Mumbai
A burnt Masjid – a reference to attack on Islam during that period.
M- How did you do it?
- We prepared the Masjid, just like that, then we burnt it off with the candle.
M- Ok. Like this masjid?
- Same like that. But we burnt it off.
M- That's very thoughtful of you.
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Marol
Mumbai
babri masjid
burnt
destroyed
masjid
religion
symbolic
M-Ok? Tell me, how did you get this idea?
- Basically, I just thought of what has gone throughout the year. And I wanted a change, apart from the valleys and hills and what we usually do for the crib, we thought like this year we will do on something that has happened throughout the year, like all the terrorism and all the actual killing, violence, everything that has happened. So, we wanted to make a crib which is based on that.
M- Hmmm.. So, then?
- Basically, actually, Father told us to get something different and we are fed up of making the same traditional thing. So, I went to his place and we were just thinking we will make something different.
M- Can you say it again? What did Father say?
- Basically, Father had said that he wants something different from us. And we were fed up of making the same traditional thing- the mountains, the waterfall, and all that. So, went to his place. He said that we will make something related to the American bombing and the Afghanistan War. So, that is what we thought. We, our plan was to portray Holy Family Parish in between these two countries. Islam and Christianity is basically into war. It's not like America and Afghanistan. That is what is happening throughout the world right now.
M- So, you were showing a conflict of religion?
- Yeah. Here, actually, the actual thing is a conflict of religion. Though people are saying like that it is only a war between United States and Afghanistan. But, actually in the minds of people, back of their minds, it's like, ok, Christians are attacking Islam, it's not like Bush or the United States is attacking Afghanistan. It's basically that. So that's why we wanted to portray Afghanistan as a bombed-up place, and the Pentagon over here.
M- And Pentagon, where?
- Pentagon and WTC over here, and the masjid over there, bombed by the US.
"Terrorists beware, terrorism is being targetted."is the caption above the crib obviously taken from oft quoted statement from the US govt.
The teenagers wanted to do something different, something contemporary. So they created the US army head quarter Pentagon, burnt Masjid as a symbol of bombing in Afghanistan and their own neighbourhood. It is a fantastic collapse of scale and perspective – an architectural folk tale. Though they routinely follow the US quote and placed it like a heading to their work, their own understanding of the world situation in post WTC attack is quite complex and independent. They consider the US bombing in Afghanistan as a war between Christianity and Islam. Their allegiance to the Church did not necessarily make them a natural alley to the 'Christian' US either! Very few adults in those days showed such maturity in analyzing the series of events.
Afghanistan
America
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Marol
Mumbai
afghanistan
al-queda
bush
christianity
combat operation
conflict
hatred
hindu
holy family parish
homeland security
iraq war
islam
killing
mayhem
new york
osama bin laden
patriot act
rebel forces
sept 11 2001
terror
terrorism
terrorists
twin towers
violence
war on terror
wtc
M (to another boy) - Tell me, how did you get this idea?
- Basically, the Parish Priest, the Holy Family parish Priest told us that, "we want something different from you this year." Every year, we are making the same traditional thing. And we too were fed up. And basically, me and Praveen, we do the crib for the Church..
So when father approached us, we said, Father, we'll try our best, and when I went to his place, Praveen told me that why don't we make something on the recent happenings, like the bombing of the Pentagon and the WTC, and even Afghanistan, the war in Afghanistan. We though it was a good idea, but showing that much won't give out the message. So we tried to show holy family parish in times of these…problems…
Now people from outside say that oh…it's a war between US and Afghanistan, but inside their hearts, back of their minds, they are not sure about what it is exactly. They feel that it is Christianity vs. Islam.
So what we are trying to portray here is, that in times of these problems, Jesus still comes. Every year he comes, but at times of these problems, he still comes. He doesn't abandon us.
M- So how do you place the Bombay slums here?
S- this is actually Chakala parish, it comes from Marol to Andheri station, and from here, from Mahakali, it goes to the Sahar road.to Sahar airport. So, basically we `ve tried to portray the full map of holy family Parish, which comes under the Holy Family. We couldn't get all the details because we didn't find the time, but we tried to show the main thing, especially the mandir (temple), the church and the masjid (mosque). Because in Holy family parish we have lot of Muslims, lot of Hindus, and we have a lot of Catholics. And whenever we have programs in the Parish, we always invite them.
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Marol
Mumbai
The interview continues. They interoperate the ongoings as a crisis time for both Christians and Muslims and thus want to reassure people that Jesus 'still comes' in this too. A nice simple secular perspective that is. Reassuring coming from teenage boys.
aeroplane
almightly
baby jesus
bethlehem
buildings
cardboard
celebration
christmas
crèche
crib
father
hay
infant
jesus
joseph
manger
miniature
models
mother mary
parish
priest
red-light
saviour
straw
strobe light
tehrmocol
towers
toy figurines
toy plane
toyland
M- Want to say something Praveen? ...It's your idea…
P- That's all, he said it all.
M- No, no, say…something.
How did you feel while working? Did you have any disagreement with each other…
P-Basically we are working together since very long time.
He's coordinating with me pretty well, I wanted this idea to be perfect. And because of Samuel's help and some boys, we've done it up.
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Marol
Mumbai
aeroplane
almightly
baby jesus
bethlehem
buildings
cardboard
celebration
christmas
crèche
crib
father
hay
infant
jesus
joseph
manger
miniature
models
mother mary
parish
priest
red-light
saviour
straw
strobe light
thermocol
towers
toy figurines
toy plane
toyland
P-Basically in Afghanistan, whatever the bombing has happened, it has destroyed many homes as well as masjids also. So, we just wanted to show that even a masjid has burnt over there. Basically what the bombing has affected the Afghanis majorly, and their religion and their homes and their families. So we wanted to portray that in one part.
M- Do you know about Babri Masjid?
P- Uhh,yea.
M- Does this remind you of Babri Masjid?
S- Not exactly, because, that is in India. And that's between Hindus and Muslims. And this is something really different. It's like, one person is trying to wage a war against the full world because he's completely brainwashed or something. In this case ,it's Osama.
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Marol
Mumbai
aeroplane
afghanistan war
babri masjid
bombs
buildings
cardboard
hay
masjid
miniature
models
osama bin laden
ravage
red-light
straw
strobe light
tehrmocol
towers
toy figurines
toy plane
toyland
Babri Masjid was domelished by the cadres of Hindu fundamentalist parties with the help of partisan govt. in Ayodhaya in 1992. In the aftermath of the demolition there were a large scale anti-Muslim rioting in many places of the country, specially in Bombay. The Islam phobia is neither new nor is it unique to the US. Only a support from the US gives it more legitimace. But the teenagers think that riots and war are different. Riots are between two sets of people in the same place – which means there are some inherent equality between them. Whereas war is about a invading another's country.
Andheri
Andheri station
Bombay
Chakala
Marol
Mumbai
S- I mean, one person is trying to wage a war against the full world ,and basically he's trying to target people who are not Muslims. It doesn't matter whether they are Hindus or Catholics or anyone else. He's just trying to target people who are not Muslims.
M-but now you are not talking about Osama. There is a religious place which was harmed and obviously, you feel bad....so similarly, a religious place was burnt here, so in that sense, does it remind you of that?
S- To some extent, yes. But the war is completely different from riots. So, we cannot compare both.
Vipin (sound recordist) -Just, um… incorporate her question, she is asking about Babri Masjid...
S- Babri Masjid, to some extent is quite different from this war, but yeah, it does remind us to some extent about Babri masjid.
M-How are riots and war different, as you said?
P-Riot is between people of two different religions, it usually occurs between people of two different religions whereas a war is basically because of indifferences, and lets try to say selfishness or something, and try to conquer something or the other.
M-now you've made us think about difference in war and riot...
M-So anything you want to tell, to our audience?
S-what can we say?...Nothing in my mind at this time...
M- Praveen?
P-I just wanted to brief up what he had said, that despite terrorism, whatever happens in whichever state or condition, whatever degree it may happen,
Jesus will still come, anytime of our life....in our life ahead. So that is why, we show "tomorrow and....future" So.....
M-So peace will come...
P-yes.
M-But you will have to work for it...
Doesn't mean you sit at home and think that Jesus will come and everything will be ok...you will have to work hard.
P- I think by displaying this crib, we can show the message that despite this terrorism, Jesus is coming So it is our work now that we put a crib, in whatever small way we can, to this terrorism.
M-Thanks, thanks a lot, very good.
aeroplane
almightly
baby jesus
bethlehem
buildings
cardboard
celebration
christmas
crèche
crib
father
hay
infant
jesus
joseph
manger
miniature
models
mother mary
parish
priest
red-light
saviour
straw
strobe light
tehrmocol
towers
toy figurines
toy plane
toyland
Bandra Cathedral Church. At the façade of the building a large paper collage of the map of the world made of war images. In the middle are figures of Mother Mary, Joseph with baby Jesus. An eagle flies and sits on the top of the cross.
collage
conflict images
crib
exterior space
war images
At Juhu. Camera pans to a roadside crib at the edge of the road, at the rare side of a building which looks like a religious institution. Facing the busy main road and perched at a comfortable height next to a closed booth, the crib is meant to attract a lot of attention. In the long shot only thing that can be visible is some skyscrapers and a round building depicting some sort of seat of power.
The closer shot reveals the round building as the Parliament house – written in small font in Hindi (Sansad Bhavan) and in wrong spelling
From this angle we can barely make out an protrusion from the skyscrapers and assume, by an association, a reference to the WTC.
In the long shot from the other side of the Road the banner reads "My Attack is of Peace and Love' – an obvious reference to the attacks of violence on WTC and Afghanistan. Pedestraians, three wheelers, private cars and red coulour public bus cross the frame in foreground creating a cacophony of noise.
A red cross on the wall that is the base of the crib denotes the place of worship.
A popular culture shrine at the side of the busy road.
access
aeroplane
almightly
autorickshaw
baby jesus
bethlehem
buildings
bus
cardboard
celebration
christmas
crèche
crib
father
hay
infant
jesus
joseph
manger
miniature
models
mother mary
parish
pedestrians
priest
red-light
road
saviour
straw
strobe light
taxi
tehrmocol
towers
toy figurines
toy plane
toyland
wall
On accessing the crib from inside the compound, there is another caption, this time in bold pink letters reading "I need place in your heart, my people".
Now, this side of the crib,one sees the difference.
The safe haven of the manger is recreated on a mountain side with goats etc. The green belt forms a nicer non-urban visual - mountains, belts of grass and the colourful box houses replicated from picture postcards outlining the territory create a complete contrast from the visual of Parliament house and skyscrapers.
access
aeroplane
almightly
autorickshaw
baby jesus
bethlehem
buildings
bus
cardboard
celebration
christmas
crèche
crib
father
hay
infant
jesus
joseph
manger
miniature
models
mother mary
parish
pedestrians
priest
red-light
road
saviour
straw
strobe light
taxi
tehrmocol
towers
toy figurines
toy plane
toyland
wall
Another angle of the crib with the plaster of paris mountain and the plastic white goats in foreground, the cardboard skyscrapers behind them and the real street with vehicles and torn film posters in the background.
access
aeroplane
almightly
autorickshaw
baby jesus
bethlehem
buildings
bus
cardboard
celebration
christmas
crèche
crib
father
hay
infant
jesus
joseph
manger
miniature
models
mother mary
parish
pedestrians
priest
red-light
road
saviour
straw
strobe light
taxi
tehrmocol
towers
toy figurines
toy plane
toyland
wall
Almightly
Bethlehem
Christmas
Close up of the WTC replica.
Almost a nondescript toy plane is stuck into the side of one of the towers. Like in folk arts it is only a representational motif. With the green leaves of the tree behind the crib moving in soft focus the tale of gore and destruction represented in the installation in the foreground looks almost serene.
The street life flows in the background – garish Bollywood posters, busy tea stall, noisy vehicles, purposeful pedestrians…. in the middle of all these the roadside replica of nativity in Bethelham or violence in New York become just another popular imagination. For us WTC is as distant and as familiar as the nativity is.
Crib
Father
Joseph
Mother Mary
access
aeroplane
autorickshaw
baby Jesus
buildings
bus
cardboard
celebration
crèche
hay
infant
jesus
manger
miniature
models
parish
pedestrians
priest
red-light
road
saviour
straw
strobe light
taxi
tehrmocol
towers
toy figurines
toy plane
toyland
wall
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