ABSTRACT
First visit to the Dhanis, a Hindu family living in Southall, west London to view Peter Brook’s televised theatrical production of The Mahabharata broadcast on Channel 4.
6:00 p.m. I arrive at the Dhanis’ three-bedroom terraced house in old Southall. Shoes are removed in the hallway. The smell of incense hangs heavily in the air. Mother, father, and seven children (aged from 11 to 21 years old) are seated in the living room. We greet each other from a distance. Malati, a bright-eyed, smiling 14-year-old girl (and an ex-pupil of mine) ushers me to the sofa where I sit cushioned between the younger children and we chat. The parents and older siblings are seated at the far end of the room near the kitchen. They remain silent but observant. The living room is a comfortably furnished through-lounge with TV set in the window bay and a long, tall sideboard decorated with family photos, pictures of Hindu gods draped with tinsel, incense holders, ornaments, and a cassette/record player. A large picture of Krishna hangs on the wall opposite with a formidable presence.
