Performance, recorded commentary, Delhi
A professional commentator was hired to call a game of cricket played regularly by teenagers on a piece of wasteland adjoining a slum in central New Delhi. A large crowd gathered as the Hindi commentary was broadcast live on local radio and across the dusty pitch.
Cricket was introduced to India during British colonization as way of spreading Victorian values. Today it is a national obsession and is pursued with a local vernacular that removes it from its origins to such an extent that it is recognised as being symbolic of India’s decolonization. The primary form of event documentation is a recording of the Hindi commentary (occasionally spattered with Hinglish; a hybrid of Hindi and English). The event marked the culmination of two months work with residents of the slum and has been adopted by local art centre Khoj as an annual event.
Commentary excerpt
Performance, recorded commentary, Delhi
A professional commentator was hired to call a game of cricket played regularly by teenagers on a piece of wasteland adjoining a slum in central New Delhi. A large crowd gathered as the Hindi commentary was broadcast live on local radio and across the dusty pitch.
Cricket was introduced to India during British colonization as way of spreading Victorian values. Today it is a national obsession and is pursued with a local vernacular that removes it from its origins to such an extent that it is recognised as being symbolic of India’s decolonization. The primary form of event documentation is a recording of the Hindi commentary (occasionally spattered with Hinglish; a hybrid of Hindi and English). The event marked the culmination of two months work with residents of the slum and has been adopted by local art centre Khoj as an annual event.
Commentary Excerp
