Beauty lies in the hearts of Bahrainis

Manama

To many, the scorching Middle East sun makes the beauty of Bahrain go blight, but Co Director of Bahrain Writers Circle and Chairman of The Second Circle DavidHollywood could see something deep inside the hearts of the local population that makes the island really beautiful. 

In an exclusive interview with DT News, Mr. Hollywood said, he had lived in different parts of the world, but had never been so positively influenced like that in Bahrain.

After landing here in Bahrain, he said, he felt it very important to demonstrate to the world that Bahrain was actually a lovely place to live.

“We have an opportunity as a writer to elevate the perceptions of the world (about Bahrain) and the responsibilities are reflected in something, like for instance, this book we have launched ‘My Beautiful Bahrain’,” he added.

He said that Bahrain was in fact quite decrepit in the landscape. “We don’t have rolling landscapes of wonderful sights, woods, rivers, trees, cattle and sheep, but what we have is a desert island with the pipes running across it and the city built on top of it.”

 “Nobody is going to have a sense of civic responsibility, so litter is absolutely everywhere and yet I would so call this ‘My Beautiful Bahrain’,” he said explaining, “so there has to be some reason for that which is beyond the physical appreciation.”

Mr. Hollywood said, that which is beyond the physical appreciation had to do with the sole mentality of the people of Bahrain and as a result they make it beautiful.

He said that in the book “My Beautiful Bahrain”, he had written an essay called Embrace which talks about how he had been received in this country, about the physical make up of the country lying in the middle of the palm trees. “I have a very long poem about the souq as well,” he said.

“I can make positive statements not just as thank you in return to the hospitality I have received but also it is a prospect of explaining to the world at large that this actually is a good place to be,” he concluded.

Bahrainis are not very confident about their culture

Speaking on the differences between Bahraini and Irish cultures, Mr. Hollywood said, Irish people are proactive in enhancing their own culture.

“In Ireland the cultural activities are there everywhere you go. It is not just available through written word, it is available through stage, dance and music and through sculpture and art,” he added.  

Bahrainis are very warm and embracing, but when it comes to the cultural activities they are not very confident about their culture.

“We have a wonderful group of artists in Bahrain but there is no unity between the Bahrainis and expatriates and they are not either curious about each other and this is the very gap I am trying to bridge,” he said explaining, “Trying to create a bridge between the two communities.”

“In Ireland it doesn’t happen,” he said, “If you are an artist in Ireland, you are accepted irrespective of who you are and once you are accepted as an artist in Ireland you can walk with confidence to the world.”

He said that there is a lot of talent in Bahrain but people here are locking and hiding it but Irish people are uninhibited on being creative. He said that everybody here wants to be led by the hand.

 
No theatre reflects local culture in Bahrain

Mr. Hollywood said that when he came to Bahrain for the first time, he was shocked to discover that there was not a local company, which reflected the true customs, traditions and values of Bahraini society.

He said that it had always been his passion to be engaged with the local cultural activities of the places wherever he goes in the world. So he wanted to do the same in Bahrain but here there was no place other than Manama Players in British Club but they were reflecting their culture and the Indians were also showing their own cultural activities.

They were showing Indian dramas which reflected their society and not this society.

He said that he had been to Russia, Modova, and America where their theatres were showing dramas reflecting their societies, their cultures but here in Bahrain things were different.

“I have universal skills which I wanted to use to bridge the gap,” he said.  

 He said that he wanted a community based theatre in Bahrain which could engage the local Bahraini population and the expatriates alike. As a result he formulated The Bahrain International Community Theatre Group and hosted an initial meeting.

“I put up an advertisement in this newspaper (DT News) and sixty people turned out for the initial meeting,” he said.

Mr. Hollywood said that he then went around looking up different opportunities where to locate it. He contacted the Ministry of Culture to discuss the possibility of opening up, maybe through the new national theater and a lot of other venues as well and that search is still going on.   


Funding a big issue in Bahrain - difficult to find out sponsorships

Mr. Hollywood said that it was very difficult to find out sponsorships in Bahrain. He said that he had been looking for funding for community based theatre in Bahrain but no real opportunities had turned out so far. He said that he had spent a lot of time with companies and organisations looking for sponsorships and was still in the middle of it. “I want forty per cent of the production in Arabic and sixty per cent in English so that we may have a proper mix,” he said.  

Writers Circle supports aspiring writers

He said that the Writers Circle had nine books by the new members in last 12 months. He added that the Writers Circle was supporting all the aspiring writers. Aspiring writers are advised to visit their website and attend monthly meetings.

He said that poetry was part of his life. “Poetry is so important for the soul of each of us,” he said.

In response to a question he said that the idea of National Poetry Day was a stunning idea and it was the extremely interested project he was looking to develop. He said that for the national poetry day he wanted to have six locations throughout the city and on each stage thirty six poets and each one of them with three poems of his own making.

He said the things were far too slow here in Bahrain. A good idea is loaded and uploaded and then it is just left on the shelf.  He said that the number of people had told him in the past that “this is a great idea and they wanted to do something on it” but they did nothing in practical and this is a great pity.

He said that the Bahrainis were too considerate to say ‘no’ as they do not want to hurt your feelings.

 “We need to be far more energetic. We are wasting our time on optimism rather than reality.”

 He said that we needed to be more affirmative in our actions. Instead of saying again to do it, just do it and don’t waste your time.

Bahrain needs bookshops and libraries and readers

He said that the people here are not interested in reading and there are no bookshops and libraries here. There might be maximum seven bookshops. The country of this size should have at least fifty to sixty bookshops.

“There are no public libraries either as there are no bookshops here so where should I go to satisfy my interest?” he asks. 

 The only option remaining is the most mundane thing - internet. It is acknowledged fact that sixty percent on the internet is all lies. Only forty per cent is to be true.   

When I think of the wonderful library down the cultural hall and I see people there but when I go there only six or eight people are there.

 In the population of million people there should be at least hundred people every moment there. So the whole prospect of reading or inspiration of the written word is not being developed here which should be.


David Hollywood – an introduction

Coming from Ireland and originally a lawyer David Hollywood has spent most of his career working with commercial organisations looking to develop their trade globally. He has served on the Boards of Irish, British, Swiss and American companies and advised upon best corporate practice methods and procedures as well as marketing and business enlargement programmes. This led to his becoming a personal advisor to a number of East European Government Ministers looking to create incentive opportunities that would entice international investments. In addition to developing prospects for a new community based theatre company in Bahrain he has also written a number of scripts and published essays and poems, of which the most recent is ‘Waiting Spaces’ which is receiving some acclaim in Ireland and India plus shortly due for launch in the USA and Great Britain and which was preceded by ‘My Beautiful Bahrain’, and followed by ‘TajMahal Review’ and 'More of My Beautiful Bahrain' and 'Poetic Bahrain'. David has also been translated into Arabic, Japanese and German and is preparing to have published a collection of essays that cover a wide range of topics relating to Classical History, Cosmology, the American education system, philosophy and religion, the language of mathematics, eternity and ecological dictatorship amongst others.  David’s focus as Director of 'The Colours of Life Poetry Festival' is to ensure each performance engages with the audience to the degree that hopefully the listener can appreciate the emotions and abstract influences, which inspired each poem.