Like Chandra
Photographs Nick Sidle, words – those who came to know Chandra as their own
Photograph – Royal Observatory Greenwich, London
Chandra is the central character in the book trilogy ‘The Heartstone Odyssey’ by Arvan Kumar published by Allied Mouse, she is the heroine of the stories. References to her here are made with permission.
Chandra is originally from India, comes to London following the death of her mother to be brought up by her aunt but continues, despite some opposition, to pursue her real love which is Indian dance, something she learned first from her mother before she died. Eventually, she makes dance her career. She experiences some of the racism of London in the 1980’s and loses one of her dance performances as a result, but this launches her on an adventure that most of us can only dream of.
Chandra is very human, she can be nervous, she can be scared, but she never gives up on what she believes in or her dream and she is fiercely loyal to her friends. On stage she becomes a phenomenon and gains a voice that is heard across the world.
I have photographed many dancers in my career including Rudolph Nureyev, Ballet Rambert, Joel Hall, London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Northern Ballet, Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet and, from the Indian tradition, Sitakumari. I will never add the caption ‘Chandra’ below a photograph, I wish I could, but I have seen her in my mind’s eye in a composition on more than one occasion.
I’ve been asked to create this place where some of those, who the character of Chandra has touched, can add their own thoughts on what she represents. Their words will mean far more so I will leave the rest for them to say.
Nick Sidle
Photograph – Sitakumari ‘Heaven’ (or just perhaps reaching for the stars)
Like Chandra
I have been fortunate enough to follow the career I wanted in dance, I have performed at some of the major venues, at some very special events, for some very special audiences and even for a few very special VIP’s. Once you have these things, it is all too easy to take them for granted and forget the time when they seemed almost impossible and almost too much to even dream about.
I grew up In London in the 1960’s and 70’s and started real professional performing in the 1980’s. These were very different times compared to today for someone who came from an Indian background and that is not to say that even now everything is as it should be, far from it. I can remember the threats of violence on the streets, the name calling, insults and the intolerance and an ever present, to at least some degree, fear that was very hard to lose. Of course, there were good times and good things happened and there were some very good people that I remember to this day, but it was not easy.
If as a girl I had had and been able to read a book about a character like Chandra, it would have meant the world. Knowing her through the words on the page would have made her the support, the friend and the bridge between hopes all too undermined by experiences and the impossible dreams I tried to keep alive. She would have also walked beside me when I began to perform, when my shows were sometimes affected by hostility, when I needed someone who could understand and who could remind me that sometimes there are happy endings, even if there is a hard journey first.
There was no ‘Heartstone Odyssey’ there when I was a girl or when I started out in adult life. I wish there had been, my copy would have been well worn from the number of times each page had been turned. Perhaps that is why I still get a small thrill of excitement every time I help get a copy of the book that she is at the very centre of out into the world and into the hands of someone she can speak to, as she would have spoken to me. I am no writer, I could never have given life to Chandra in a book. If I can give that book a life in the world, that can be my contribution.
Sitakumari
Director of Heartstone and co-founder of Allied Mouse
Preston
About Chandra
Hello everyone, my name is Shriya and I am studying in Yr 8 in Lancaster Girls Grammar School in Preston. Thank you to Heartstone and Gujert Hindu Society for giving me the opportunity to be part of this amazing initiative. The Story Circle in Preston included five of us.
We started off with the reading of the book, and as we progressed to discussing our understanding of The Heartstone Odyssey, we discovered each of our perspectives were so similar yet still unique. Together as a group, by the time we had finished reading it, we emerged as individuals who respected equality, unity and diversity, positivity and working together as a team much more. Mainly because we are living in a diverse country that respects and includes other ethnic origins, more than ever before I think it’s important to propagate the concept that as a society we need to be more receptive to the changing times…Story Circles like this will help raise more awareness for people, to build a greater sense of belonging to their town, city or state, that they are living in.
I feel myself to be very fortunate to be part of this group where we did some very interesting group activities such as writing, colouring, painting, drawing, and we even performed a skit on Independence Day August 2021, at GHS which was very well received by a huge audience.
I think this project really opened my eyes to what I can do as a person and what I can grow into and I am so excited to share this all with you
I think Chandra represents a more confident and more powerful and impactful version of me. She is described as creative, a powerful leader with the mice in the story. The whole team was having to cope with Smirkmuzzle the rat and his gang behind Chandra. It really shows how she can be resilient and keep going for her goals. Although there are many hurdles like racism, people making hurtful comments, all those only make Chandra stand stronger and become truly an achiever. Really, she is so inspirational for me.
As to how many books there are in my school which have S Asian heroines, this was very interesting for me to look at and research. I really loved the experience of reading about a S Asian heroine in a children’s book. Ever since I have read The Heartstone Odyssey, I have been looking for that Asian Indian heroine in books. There are a few but not many and not for children. I am now really encouraging others, as well as myself, to put our thoughts down on paper, to tell more people about Chandra and her adventures…
Shriya – Age 13
Panipat
‘It has been rightly said by Rosa Parks, to bring about change you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try.’
This is Ridhima Bajaj from Panipat. I have been reading the novel, The Heartstone Odyssey, for the past two months and it has indeed been a splendid experience for me. The book by Arvan Kumar deals with issues of prejudice and intolerance and has a strong empowering female heroine, Chandra, for all girls and young women. It documents her quest to overcome prejudice, intolerance and racism together with her allies, the mice.
The story is about the mice that help Chandra to have the adventure but there are some evil characters who are trying to stop them from finding it. It has a bad beginning for Chandra because her show was cancelled by the owner. She went to the park crying and that’s where she met Hugbundle….
This story aims to break down traditional stereotypes about race and gender and educate children about discrimination and prejudice. It is not just a book – it is a movement, a campaigning organisation of children, parents, teachers, students and officials confronting racism. I love this book. It’s not just a magical adventure but a fabulous and safe way of introducing the difficult and ugly issues of racism and prejudice with children from 0-100! The issues raised by this book are as relevant or even more relevant today as it was in the 80’s when it was written. The book does not preach – it leaves you to make up your own mind and tells the history of the British in India from a different angle which you really see…
The Heartstone Odyssey has become the centre of a national project challenging prejudice and bigotry with a dedicated group of people who want to see the mouse world brought to life. We are all still waiting to hear the end of the story!
This story is not about the author, it is about a magical world of mice fighting racism and discrimination. Chandra is strong and independent and does not give up her goals despite being a victim of racism. She is an empowering role model for all girls and young women particularly those of Asian origin where you do not see Asian heroines in books. Groups of young women have been reading this book in India and this is one of the things they love most about it. Let there be no doubt, I am part of this campaign against racism, prejudice and bigotry and will be until my dying breath!’
Ridhima, Bal Vikas School, Panipat, India – part of the first Story Circle in India
Age 12
Kosovo
Photograph – KFOR Weapons Search, Gnjilane, Kosovo
The following contribution has come from the Story Circle students at Oasis Academy in Coulsdon. Five of them came as guests to the Tower of London Fusilier Museum event in January 2024 for the first presentation of Heartstone’s new exhibition: ‘KFOR and Kosovo +25’. This piece has come from them from reading The Heartstone Odyssey and visiting the exhibition:
I am a student of history. I enjoy learning about the feats of the past. Stonehenge. The Taj Mahal. Battles. The horrors, benefits and impacts of colonialism. The reason I enjoy history is because it resonates with modern society. How events influence another, then another, and then another as these events pipeline until it is resolved before the cycle repeats. One of the most profound pipelines that can be investigated is that of discrimination. When one person fears another person due to things they cannot control, or how they choose to live their lives.
For me and my classmates, we were so excited to present our thoughts on the book heart-stone odyssey. To showcase our work at the town hall and speak to everyone, was a thrilling and exciting experience. It was a really fun topic to learn and when I think of Chandra, the main character, I think of the passion and the love she had for her Indian dancing. I was very inspired by her and how she went through a lot in this book but she pushed through. The mice were like her motivation, getting her through the hard times.
In the book, there were many beautiful things described which we wanted to take further by creating our own unique pieces of artwork, such as the stained glass windows that were seen and the henna that Chandra painted on her hand. One of my favourite pieces was one made from my classmate, which showed a skyline of India with religious buildings including, a church, a mosque and Indian temple. This showed tolerance and unity. I also enjoyed using digital photography to capture the different mudras such as mouse, moonlight and evil.
Heartstone aims to work with people of all religions, all races and abilities to build a sense of trust and understanding, to look at the past, present and future through multiple lenses. My journey with Heartstone started in Year 7, exactly 2 years ago. I investigated the History behind ‘The Heartstone Odessey’, from which the organisation gets its name. Looking back, about to go into my GCSE years, I thank this contribution. I have had the ability to attend more events like these, and further my understanding of these topics, and fully realise my love for History. And it was through this project that on the 15th of January 2024, I was part of a group of young people from our school who attended the KFOR+ event at the Fusiliers Museum in the Tower of London.
This event commemorated the peacekeeping efforts of the UN, NATO and its allies in Kosovo, a state that had split from the Serbian region of Yugoslavia in a bloody partition. The troubles in Kosovo were a symptom of religious and ethnic discrimination. The Kosovo region contained a majority of ethnic Albanian Muslims, who were suppressed by Slobodan Milošević as Kosovo was the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Ethnic Albanian Muslims tried to peacefully protest against this, but their requests were in ignored. Fuel was added to the fire by the refusal from the international community to get involved in the dispute. In this climate, radicals formed the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) and they began attacking Serbian police and politicians. The KLA reached a magnitude where it was deemed as a ‘substantial uprising’ and Yugoslav armed forces deployed to the area.
Negotiations were attempted, but broke down, and in response Yugoslav forces expulsed all of the ethnic Albanians from Kosovo. In response, NATO began an 11-week long bombing campaign, which extended all the way to the Serbian capital of Belgrade. Eventually, a peace was signed, and Yugoslavia withdrew all troops. 1 million and 500,000 displaced ethnic Albanians were then allowed to return to the Kosovo region. Although most Serbians left the region, a few remained and often suffered reprisals. In response, UN peacekeeping forces were deployed in Kosovo.
The event was extremely well presented and conducted with the correct sympathy and tenderness required for a subject topic like this. I had the pleasure at the event to speak with Lord George Robertson, who was Secretary General of NATO at the time of the conflict. I had a long chat with him about current politics, but he also did stress the importance of events like these. Without these events recalling memories from the past and reminding ourselves of where we have come from, we would suffer the same problems our ancestors faced in the past. I am a student of history, so we can remember these things, avoid the same problems, and create a new and better world from the ashes of its past. You would believe from this that the discrimination pipeline has come to a close.
But it hasn’t. There is still discrimination. In politics, more far-right political parties are gaining influence. Wars have risen hateful sentiments against certain groups. I am scared that we have come full circle. At the dawn of the millennium, we had our resolution. And now we are about to brave the slippery slope of discrimination again. So please. Remember.
Photographs ©Nick Sidle, all rights reserved