Hardeep Seeks Serenity

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0120120716The writer and broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli is seeking serenity each day this week. He'll be meeting five people - from a stand-up comic to a foster carer - to find out how they bring peace and stillness into their lives.

In the first programme he travels to Suffolk to meet Simon Barnes. Simon is the chief sportswriter of The Times as well as its wildlife correspondent. Together they sit down to watch the Premier League clash between Manchester City and Manchester United. With the two teams' strident fans and pumped up players, it's about as far from serenity as they can get.

But early next morning, very early the next morning, at 4.00 am Hardeep is up and meeting Simon Barnes to go with him to Darsham Marsh. Simon, author of 'Bird Watching With Your Eyes Closed', introduces Hardeep to the sounds of the dawn. Nightingales, larks, blackbirds, robins, even a rare cuckoo, all make their appearance as they squelch their way to a remote spot.

Hardeep admits to experiencing a 'magical morning'. Has he found one kind of serenity?

Producer: Richard Bannerman

A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.

Columnist Simon Barnes introduces Hardeep Singh Kohli to the magical sounds of the dawn.

Hardeep Singh Kohli meets five people, each with their own story of finding serenity

0220120717The writer and broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli is seeking serenity each day this week. He'll be meeting five people - from a stand-up comic to a foster carer - to find out how they bring peace, or a moment of serenity, into their lives.

In today's programme, Hardeep travels to the National Sports Centre at Lilleshall, near Telford, to talk to Kay Lucas. Kay is the reigning para-archery world champion in her discipline, having won gold at the 2010 games in France. She also represented Britain at the Beijing Paralympics, and takes part in national and international events.

She talks about the moment where she experiences a feeling of concentrated serenity, as she places the arrow on the bow, and looses it at the target. It's a serenity that has been hard won, since Kay was injured in a car accident in 1995 and was then subjected to a violent physical assault that left her disabled. She talks to Hardeep about those events, and also about her new-found faith which offers her a further kind of serenity.

She and her trainer-husband Kim allow Hardeep the chance to experience the serenity of the archer for himself, as he removes an arrow from its quiver, and places it on the bowstring. He agrees that, as he breathes in, holds his breath and fires, there is a strange moment when the outside world disappears.

Producer: Richard Bannerman

A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.

Para world champion Kay Lucas introduces Hardeep to the concentrated serenity of archery.

Hardeep Singh Kohli meets five people, each with their own story of finding serenity

0320120718The writer and broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli is seeking serenity each day this week. He'll be meeting five people, from very different backgrounds, to find out how they bring peace, or a moment of serenity, into their lives.

In today's programme, Hardeep meets the stand-up comic Chris Dangerfield. Chris appears at comedy nights in a range of venues, and will be making a return visit to the Edinburgh Fringe in August. His comedy is raw and confrontational, but in his conversation with Hardeep he talks about how, after years spent on drugs, he managed to find a serenity of mind that gave him the strength to kick his addiction.

Producer: Richard Bannerman

A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.

Hardeep meets the comic Chris Dangerfield, who found serenity after years of drugs.

Hardeep Singh Kohli meets five people, each with their own story of finding serenity

0420120719The writer and broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli is seeking serenity each day this week. He'll be meeting five people, from very different backgrounds, to find out how they bring peace, or a moment of serenity, into their lives.

In today's programme, Hardeep meets Maria Mansari, a foster-parent in Bristol. With two grown-up boys she's currently engaged in the long-term foster care of a teenager. One of the most challenging of jobs, often dealing with disturbed children, she talks to Hardeep about how she manages to let a bit of peace and serenity into her life - much of it coming from the reward she receives from the changes she witnesses in the children.

Producer: Richard Bannerman

A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.

Hardeep meets Maria Mansari, a foster parent who finds serenity in a challenging role.

Hardeep Singh Kohli meets five people, each with their own story of finding serenity

0520120720In the final programme of the series, Hardeep Singh Kohli talks to the dancer and choreographer Akram Khan, who is currently preparing for his part in the opening ceremony for the Olympics. He talks to Hardeep between rehearsals.

One of the country's leading dance artists, winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production this year, Akram Khan has dazzled audiences since he founded his Company twelve years ago. With a technique that began with his study of Indian Kathak dance, and was followed by his work in contemporary dance styles, his productions and performances are a unique blend of influences.

The words 'speed', 'energy', 'stillness' and 'serenity' are used to describe the impact he has on audiences, and he talks to Hardeep about that aspect of his art and approach to life. Indian classical dance forms are based on nine emotions, including shanta (serenity). Khan talks about the spiritual side of his art, and his belief that dance offers a brief moment to dream.

Producer: Richard Bannerman

A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.

Hardeep Singh Kohli talks to the dancer and choreographer Akram Khan.

Hardeep Singh Kohli meets five people, each with their own story of finding serenity