Bene Israel women perform kirtans at AJDC program in Mumbai, 2016 (Surabhi Sharma)
This year, COVID-19 competes with Haman as the villain of the Jewish holiday of Purim for India’s Bene Israel “
kirtankars.” The kirtankars, a group of elderly women from the Mumbai Jewish community who sing
kirtan, or traditional devotional songs, had planned to perform a kirtan about Queen Esther in the synagogue for the holiday. But with places of worship mostly closed due to the pandemic, the women’s performance has been canceled.
Kirtans are traditional storytelling songs inspired by Hindu devotional music. The ones sung by the Bene Israel are in the local Marathi language and include Hebrew words. They extol great figures of the Hebrew Bible, such as Joseph, Moses, David and Elijah. The one the women had hoped to perform this week is called “Esther Ranichi Katha” or the tale of Queen Esther who saved the Jews.
Tariro Mavondo
The Resonant Heart is an evening of creative expression, cultural performance and femme celebration for International Women’s Day.
Ahead of this International Women’s Day, The Boite will host The Resonant Heart, an evening of multidisciplinary performance from distinguished Melbourne-based artists from across the world.
Conceptualized by musician and performer Nela Trifkovic, the evening will feature performances by two all-femme bands, as well as solos by acclaimed artists, Zimbabwean multi-disciplinary artist Tariro Mavondo, and Palestinian artist-activist Aseel Tayah. SARAY Illuminado Femme, a three-piece ensemble helmed by Trifkovic, specialise in the traditional music of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sevdah, creating contemporary reditions of traditional Sevdalinka songs and Sephardic Jewish romances. Queen of Hearts draw on the Mexican Mariachi tradition, covering classics as well as their own creations.
The American poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who died on Feb. 22 at age 101, drew on Jewish culture and history for inspiration in celebratory odes and at times of tragedy.
The Yonkers-born Ferlinghetti, whose mother, Clemence Mendes-Monsanto, was of Sephardic Jewish origin, was an avid painter in addition to his accomplishments as writer and editor.
One Ferlinghetti poem cites the Russian Jewish artist Marc Chagall to express cultural exuberance from disobeying maternal advice. Ferlinghetti’s poem, which takes its title from the first line, begins:
“Don’t let that horse/ eat that violin/ cried Chagall’s mother/ But he/ kept right on
painting/And became famous/ And kept on painting/ The Horse With Violin In Mouth/ And when he finally finished it/ he jumped up upon the horse/and rode away/ waving the violin…”
OUTLaw honors LGBTQ alumni Lynn Nakamoto ’85 and Robert Raben ’88 for their intersectional leadership
OUTLaw, the NYU Law student group that brings together self-identifying LGBTQ students, alumni, faculty, and staff and their allies, held a virtual ceremony on January 28 to present its annual alumni award. This year, for the first time, there were two recipients: Justice Lynn Nakamoto ’85 of the Oregon Supreme Court and Robert Raben ’88, president and founder of the Raben Group, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm.
In her opening remarks, Tal Charme-Zane ’22, one of OUTLaw’s co-chairs, lauded Nakamoto and Raben’s commitment to intersectional leadership: “Both have dedicated their careers to amplifying the many voices that make up our incredibly diverse LGBTQ community.”