KHOJ Modinagar, Delhi 2001

This year has not been an easy one for South Asia : As I write, cruise missiles are hurting in neighbouring airspaces killing people. Earlier in the year Nepal reeled under the deadly Palace massacre; suicide bombers destroyed half the Sri Lankan Airlines fleet in Colombo; Bangladesh has been through another violent election and Kashmir continues to burn in the aftermath of the Agra summit between Pakistan and India.

It is at times like this that international workshops like ours assume a deeper significance. As friend and artist Lee Wen perceptively wrote in the aftermath of September 11, “... The situation of globalisation has its dangers that we must now try harder to understand ...across the plains of our endeavours it is cross-cultural activities that have been unfortunately neglected and is the lowest in priority in nearly all nations and societies despite all the increasing glaring signs of disparities everywhere.”

And so we continue - doggedly - with our preparations for another workshop which brings together artists from different parts of the world in an attempt to develop mutual understanding of our differences and similarities.