Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

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Arts, Culture & Entertainment, World Opinion

Bengaluru :

There’s a lot Anita Mithra is excited about these days. The 56-year-old city-based theatre practitioner, along with eight other actors from Theatre for Change, will be representing the country in the Kenyan International Theatre Festival. Festival director Kevin Kimani Kahuro, who invited the citybased theatre group last year as well, says, “They have an amazing way of telling their stories. And even though they share the stories of individuals, they share their culture along with it as well. And that’s what this festival is about – besides being a platform for Kenyan theatre artistes to showcase their work, it’s also a place where international acts and cultures can come together.”

For the fifth edition, the virtual festival will be held over a period of five days, beginning on Nov. 10. It will see representation from five continents, with participation from countries like the USA, Colombia, India, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Ghana, Egypt and Uganda. Like last year, this year too, Theatre for Change will perform a play that has been inspired by the African American playwright Ntozake Shange’s choreopoems.

“But we have adapted it to an Indian context and the performance consists of a set of multilingual monologues narrated by women across age,” explains Sujatha Balakrishnan, founder, Theatre for Change. These monologues deal with various issues like body shaming, child sexual abuse and challenges faced in relationships. “We were inspired by Shange because these are shared experiences faced by women across the world,” adds Balakrishnan, who is also considering collaborating with some theatre students of Kenyatta University in Nairobi for the performance.

Mithra, whose monologue is on reinvention and the curveballs life throws at one, is hoping her piece will touch some minds and hearts. “My piece is a narration on a singular event in my life that was challenging and yet life affirming. I am hoping it provides resonance with women my age and food for thought for the younger ones,” she says.

Besides Mithra, other actors who are participating from the group include: Parvati Ramchandran, Mimansa Ojha, Vandana Dugar, Vasanti Sundaram, Pooja Pandey Tripathi, Urvashi Goverdhan and Shatarupa Bhattacharyya. Besides the pre-recorded performance, there will also be a live Q&A session. This, Balakrishnan hopes, will spark a conversation around women’s issues that are both culturally specific as well as shared by women in India, Kenya and other African countries.

Though performed primarily in English, they will have some segments in regional Indian languages, which will also be conveyed through subtitles to the international audience. Adds Balakrishnan, “These are compelling personal stories shared with conviction, pride and honesty. They reinforce the importance of every story having a soul that needs to be told, heard and counted. Stories told from a specific perspective are dangerous as they become the dominant narrative.” For details about the festival, visit kitfest.co.ke

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Simran Ahuja / Express News Service / October 06th, 2020

The Big Brother of Bangalore

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Janopakari Doddanna worked selflessly and tirelessly for Bengaluru

K. H. Ramaiah, a prominent personality of yesteryear Bangalore, often referred Gubbi Thotadappa as a fatherly figure (appa), Janopakari Doddanna as (Anna), elder brother. The services they rendered encompassed a very large strata of the city irrespective of class, cast and creed.

A vivid description of the life and contribution of Doddanna to Bengaluru is found Prof. V Krishna Setty’s book (1997), who had a long association with the institution founded by Doddanna.

Doddanna Shetty was born on February 3, 1840 to a pious couple Nanjundappa and Siddamma. They belonging to a vegetable oil extracting and trading community. They lived in Commercial Street in Cantonment area during 1830s. In addition to being god fearing and spiritual, the couple were also widely known for their charity and hospitality. Nanjundappa was the head of the community and was referred to as ‘Yajaman’.

Doddanna, got the education required for the family business, and after the death of his father assumed the post of Yajaman, and continued the family trade. He had also inherited the parents’ trait of charity and hospitality and without any bias, helped the downtrodden to live with dignity.

He used to go during night with a few of his associates to distribute good food and blankets to help the destitute and vagabonds on the streets and also the wandering monks who took shelter at Poornaiah Choultry which was located next to Tulasi Thota near Dharmambudi Tank, the present day Kempegowda Central Bus stand.

Paramount Theatre  

He renovated the Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple, his family deity, on Old Poor House Road in Cantonment and liberally donated for such work undertaken by other temples in Bengaluru. He had also given away a portion of his land near Bangalore East Railway station for the use of Buddha Centre. Because of these liberal contributions he used to be even referred to as ‘Daanashoora Karna’, a prominent character known for such charitable acts in the epic, Mahabharata. In spite of being benevolent to the society, as if to test his inner strength to face the adversities, he lost three wives, one after the other. Though two sons were born to the fourth wife she too died soon.

Yet, he recovered from these onslaughts of the fate and continued to serve his city. During 1898, there was severe plague attack in Bengaluru and the first son Lakshminarayana fell a victim for the pandemic. Realising that isolation is the sole solution to prevent the spread of the disease, Doddanna got about two hundred shelters built in a village Venkatapura for the benefit of the members of his community. The plague had also deprived the education to many downtrodden children. To groom the future generation on proper moral and ethical grounds, he took some space near the present day KR Market in 1900 and started a lower secondary school to impart free education especially for poor children. He treated these kids as his own and took personal care even in giving them oil bath, food and clothing.

Pouring a major chunk of his wealth he also started to construct a huge building to run the school. He wanted this structure to represent the culture and ethics of the land and should also be big enough to serve the purpose of a school, choultry, theatre and assembly hall. Later, his building became a landmark in the city as Doddanna hall and also as Paramount theatre.

Around the year 1900, the Mysore Government had started the construction of the building of Revenue Survey Office in Cubbon Park, near KR circle. The contractor, Tatayaa had given the responsibility of the construction to Rangappa. Everyday, while walking from Cantonment to his school in the City Market area, Doddanna used to pause a little and observe the construction and used to discussthe details with Rangappa. Finally, when the building was completed, he liked the elegant front elevation of the structure and the excellent quality of work. He wanted his building also to represent the native culture and tradition. He engage d Rangappa to give his dream a realistic shape.

Inspiration for Doddanna Hall  

The construction work under his personal supervision was going on. At this juncture, fate shot another major blow by taking away the life of his second and the only surviving son, Lakshminarasimha. Since the son died at the beginning of the construction, some elders advised him not to continue the work as his planetary positions were not in his favour. But, he accepted the adversities as challenges and proceeded with the work.

Doddanna’s philanthropic activities and his persisting efforts for the welfare of the downtrodden in spite of stumbling blocks, were known to the elite of the city.

Some other elders told him that his walking all the way from Cantonment to the City Market area was strenuous, Doddanna did not agree. “I can afford to have a personal coach for my movement. But, I feel, the money I spend for the same can be used to get few more cups of milk or oil to give bath to the poor little ones in my school…”

To continue…

sureshmoona@gmail.com

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Art / by Suresh Moona / October 01st, 2020

Letters signed by Mahatma to go on the block

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion

The letter in English, dated March 6, 1930, with a personal letterhead of ‘Gandhi Niwas , Rajkot, India’, is written in blue ink.

A handwritten letter of Mahatma Gandhi to the secretary of Congress, a week before he started the Dandi March to defy the salt tax from Sabarmati Ashram, are among three of his memorabilia that are going under the hammer in Bengaluru on Gandhi Jayanti on Friday.

While a physical auction is taking place in the city, bids are being invited online too.

The letter in English, dated March 6, 1930, with a personal letterhead of ‘Gandhi Niwas , Rajkot, India’, is written in blue ink.

The letter just says: “I will go next Sunday. All the member should present in the meeting. The meeting is very important for us.” The Mahatma signed the letter as ‘MK Gandhi’.

He commenced the 240-mile, 24-day Dandi March on March 12 as part of the Civil Disobedience Movement and tax resistance. While the letter was written on a Thursday, the “next Sunday” was March 9. The important meeting that he was referring to could be a meeting ahead of the Dandi march.

Rajender Maru of Marudhar Arts, one of the few ASI-licenced auction houses in India, which is auctioning the memorabilia, said that the other handwritten letter of the Mahatma is in Gujarati. The letter received by Kumar Ranjit Singhji, the ruler of Nawanagar, on April 12, 1939, is written in blue ink on handmade paper, which is still in good condition.

The third item is a rare black-and-white photograph of the Mahatma with an undated signature in Hindi in black ink as ‘M.K. Gandhi’.

“Handwritten and signed letters of Mahatma Gandhi are unequivocally rare and are amongst the most sought after collectibles in the Indian autographs category. This is important due to its rarity,” Mr. Maru told The Hindu.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Sharath S Srivatsava / Bengaluru – October 01st, 2020

Exhibition-cum-sale to revive purchase of handmade products made by rural women

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
A file photo of Gandhi Bhavan in Kumara Park East, which will be the venue of the first exhibition-cum-sale of handmade products.   | Photo Credit: K_MURALI_KUMAR

The slogan is ‘Come in as a consumer, go out as an activist’

The Heggodu-based Charaka and Desi Trust, which had shut down operations due to huge losses and lack of sales due to the pandemic and the lockdown, is organising a series of exhibition-cum-sale of handmade products to get back on its feet. The first such exhibition will be held at Gandhi Bhavan, Kumara Park East from October 2 to 4.

Charaka, the largest naturally-dyed handloom fabric manufacturer in the country being run as a co-operative by women, is saddled with a whopping 87,000 metres of unsold fabric and about ₹16 lakh worth of garments.

Desi, which markets products of Charaka through 15 stores in Karnataka, has a stock of garments worth around ₹1 crore. “We continued working during the lockdown to ensure the women do not lose jobs. But there was no sale, which has left us with unsold stock. We have run out of cash and were left with no choice but to shut down operations,” said theatre person Prasanna, the key force behind Charaka and Desi Trust.

Grama Seva Sangh has now taken up ‘Save Gramodyog’, a two-part initiative which will include a rural campaign where villagers will picket panchayat offices seeking answers as to why the rural economy is in dire straits, and an urban campaign led by consumers to encourage the purchase and support of handmade products.

The exhibition at Gandhi Bhavan is the first of a series of exhibitions, which will be held across the State. The slogan for the exhibition is ‘Come in as a consumer, go out as an activist’

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / Bengaluru – September 29th, 2020

Aravani Art Project brings alive the ‘Story of Bangalore’ through art

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

The facade of the Museum of Art and Photography on Kasturba Road now sports a large, colourful mural

There is a new addition to the Bengaluru cityscape. The façade of the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) on Kasturba Road, which is under construction, has been transformed into a large, colourful mural.

The project was brought to life over 10 days by Aravani Art Project, a city-based cis and transwomen art collective. The artwork titled Story of Bangalore or Bengaluru Kathegalu, featuresthe myriad people that make the bustling metropolis: from the morning walker and the pourakarmika to the traffic policeman, complete with orange reflector jacket.

Says Kamini Sawhney, director of MAP, “We are a museum that is located in Bengaluru, and it is so important to connect with the community. We have been doing this over the last two years with education programmes, talks and so on. Once COVID-19 happened, things came to a standstill but we decided that this artwork was a good way to tell Bengaluru that we are here. I also think that the two important pillars of MAP are inclusion and accessibility and this project conveys that message.”

Stating that the concept was decided after brainstorming with the Aravani team, she says, “The important points that came up were that this is essentially a garden city that still has beautiful trees and flowers, despite all the development. So, the mural has trees and flowers. Then we decided to have a building that identifies with Bengaluru so you have the High Court in Cubbon Park.”

“Then you have walkers, children and dogs. The building has been designed in such a way that it is accessible to all. So, there is a child in the corner in a wheelchair, almost at the MAP entrance. COVID-19 has affected our societies tremendously, so you can see masks and frontline workers too. Everyone has included something that they felt was important to the story of Bengaluru.”

The people in the mural remain faceless, painted in different shades of brown. The idea being, “it could be you”.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Art / by Aparna Narain / Bengaluru – September 22nd, 2020

Brass strokes

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

With a shelf life of 1,000 years, Dinesh Magar’s art celebrates grandeur of metallic sheen and bold hues

Bengaluru : 

Technology has percolated different streams of art, but Dinesh Magar prefers to follow the traditional method for creating his works. After all, he says, his chosen medium – brass – has been used in Indian temples for centuries. The city-based artist is exhibiting 15 paintings from his latest series, called ‘Heaven Sent’, at Gallery G. The exhibition will continue till Oct. 15. 

Magar, whose work is considered a good mix of mural, painting and sculpture, has always found mythology as his muse. So no points for guessing what his latest series is about. “I have always found mythology very interesting. And it’s not restricted to Hinduism. A lot of my art pieces are based on Buddhism, Jainism and Christianity, so that they can reach a wider audience,” says Magar, who is a board member of Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.

Ask Magar about what fascinated him about this particular style of art, and he replies, “I have always found water and acrylic painting really intricate and difficult, which is the same as brass painting. But in the latter medium, there is no scope for mistakes. Whatever you decide to do, it’s set in brass, and is difficult to undo.” The 50-year-old artist, who has been pursuing this passion for over 27 years, adds that even the temperature used on the brass plate affects the painting. Another reason for his choice, he mentions, is that brass has been an important metal used in Indian temples. “Since many of my painting are on mythology, it gels well with the theme,” he adds. 

Brass paintings have a shelf life of almost 1,000 years. But he does not want to stick to just the basic art. In an effort to make each piece one of its kind, some of the paintings are also embedded with crystals. The works are priced beginning at `2.5 lakh, and the cost goes up to `7.5 lakh. “But I can assure anybody who owns a piece made by me that it will be exclusive to them and there won’t be any other like it,” says Magar, who also works as an art consultant for different companies.  The exhibition is on at Gallery G, Lavelle Road, till Oct. 15

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Monika Monalisa / Express News Service / September 22nd, 2020

Mangaluru girl masters writing with both hands

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Aadi Swaroopa displaying her writing skills.   | Photo Credit:  Special Arrangement

Swaroopa toys with nine other forms too, including simultaneously writing in Kannada and English

15-year-old Aadi Swaroopa can write with ease using both the hands in unidirectional way. She has also mastered writing in nine different ways including speed writing with right and left hand, reverse running writing and mirror image writing.

Daughter of Gopadkar and Sumadkar, Ms. Swaroopa recently secured a certificate from Uttar Pradesh-based Barelia Lata Foundation for writing 45 words in a minute in an unidirectional way.

Ms. Swaroopa, who is writing the SSLC examination this year as a private candidate, picked up writing with left hand two years ago during a summer camp conducted by her parents, who manage Swaroopa Adhyayana Kendra – a centre that promotes self-learning.

It’s during the lockdown, when there were not much children at the Kendra, that Ms. Swaroopa started practising different forms of writing using both hands. “It’s continuous practice that helped me to improve my speed,” said Ms. Swaroopa, who started writing at the age of three. “I keep on adding new forms of writing.”

On Monday, Ms. Swaroopa demonstrated her skill before reporters by writing the line “See the line where the sky meets the sea ..” unidirectionally. She then wrote the same sentence in the opposite direction, followed by speed writing with right and left hand separately and also writing the mirror image of the sentence. She also showed her heterotopic style of writing, and the hetero linguistic style that involved simultaneously writing in Kannada and English. She showed dancing form, exchange form and her blindfolded writing skill too.

Ms. Swaroopa, who has already come out with a short story book in Kannada and a fiction book in English, said writing with both hands has had positive effect on her creativity. “I am now writing my second novel,” said Ms. Swaroopa, who is a voracious reader, an Yakshagana artiste, a Hindustani classical singer and an artist. She loves mimicry and performs beatbox.

Gopadkar and Sumadkar said they have liberated their daughter from the pressure of learning in a classroom. “She has all the skills to become a good writer,” said Sumadkar.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – September 23rd, 2020

In black and white

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Nori, along with Indu Antony, Krishanu Chatterjee and Vivek Muthuramalingam has been working on this hands-on project through the lockdown.

From left: Vivek Muthuramalingam, Aparna Nori, Indu Antony and Krishanu Chatterjee

Bengaluru :

Feeling that she has forgotten her mother’s fragrance and the touch of her cool hands, photoartist Aparna Nori has made a diptych, a memory of her mother’s favourite bloom, the rajnigandha (tuberose).

“I wanted my work to have a multi-sensorial experience,” she says about her work titled ‘Memory is My Sixth Sense’. It has been made using the salt technique, a process dating back to the 1800s. 

Nori, along with Indu Antony, Krishanu Chatterjee and Vivek Muthuramalingam has been working on this hands-on project through the lockdown. The collective is now exhibiting their works, ‘Being in a State of Salax’, at Kanike, their studio, which is complete with a dark room set up, on appointment basis.   

A part of Nori’s work, ‘Memory is my Sixth Sense

Quite tired of looking at the digital screen, this long-drawn out process has been meditative, says Antony. Feeling a sense of resonance with abandoned photographs, she says, “I have been collecting images, especially of women, from various places. Salt prints have an ephemeral quality to them, they fade, they disappear in front of your eyes – like the abandoned people.” She wanted to preserve them or their existence by stitching the edges of the photograph with her hair which eventually will be the only part of this work that will remain and the empty space to question our existence.

“Each of us has expressed ourselves in different ways without restricting ourselves. From photographs to drawings, our visual language has been varied,” Antony says. During the lockdown, Muthuramalingam woke up every morning to the calls of the visiting birds in his mother’s garden, that made him reminisce about his birding days.

“I took to drawing and rendered the birds that remained in my memory, an exercise that offered me considerable solace,” says Muthuramalingam, who as a part of his photographic documentation of the projects of Biome Environmental Solutions (a Bengaluru-based design firm with a focus on architecture, ecology and water), has created a series of salt prints for their forthcoming book.

“Much like Biome’s architectural creations, each of which is made considering a unique set of challenges – local materials, location, weather and client aspirations – the making of the salt prints considers a variety of parameters too. Quite often the prints don’t necessarily turn out the way it was envisioned, yet yield a different, but surprisingly good result,” he says. 

‘Talaash’ by Chatterjee 

With the digital world having broken barriers, they will do a virtual walk through of the show at the end of the week. Next up is a salt print workshop to teach the technique, scheduled in the next two weeks. 


‘Being in a State of Salax’ is on until Sept. 25, at Kanike, Cooke Town, between 11am and 6pm.

Know How
The salted paper technique was created in the mid-1830s by English scientist and inventor Henry Fox Talbot. Acid-free paper is coated with salt and silver nitrate, which makes the paper photo sensitive. A negative is then imprinted through contact print. It involves multiple levels of washing, seven to be precise and no two prints look the same. The toning of prints being exhibited has been done with gold chloride.

Visits by appointment. E-mail: kanikestudios@gmail.com

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Vidya Iyengar / Express News Service / September 21st, 2020

Belagavi man gives free oxygen cylinders to needy

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A social worker-cum-entrepreneur in Belagavi has come to the rescue of critical Covid patients with respiratory issues who cannot afford or procure them.

Oxygen level being measured on a pulse oximeter. (Photo| PTI)

Belagavi :

 A social worker-cum-entrepreneur in Belagavi has come to the rescue of critical Covid patients with respiratory issues who cannot afford or procure them. Venkatesh Patil of Belgaum Oxygen Private Limited realised the need of the hour and started refilling empty cylinders with oxygen, free of cost, to help the poor and needy in the district.

The dearth of oxygen cyliners had allegedly claimed the lives of several Covid patients. Several NGOs and social workers started collecting oxygen cylinders for the needy. However, after the they were utilised, refilling them became a challenge for them.

When Patil came to know about this, he started refilling empty cylinders bought by NGOs, through his company, BOPL. The cost of refilling each Rs 260. Till date, Patil has refilled 1,882 oxygen cylinders free of cost. Many other NGOs have been approaching him with empty cylinders, and he has refilled them without charging a single rupee.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Express News Service / September 08th, 2020

Suchitra Film Society to start a film school

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The Suchitra Film Society launched a yearlong golden jubilee celebration on Saturday.  

The society, which enters its 50th year, will also revive film festival apart from holding a host of workshops

Bengaluru’s Suchitra Film Society, which completed 49 years on August 28, launched a yearlong golden jubilee celebration on Saturday as it entered it’s 50th year. Only four other film societies have achieved this feat in the country.

Suchitra Suvarna Sambhrama will feature two international film festivals and the start of a film school, apart from a host of workshops, retrospectives of auteurs among other programmes through the year. Filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli has been roped in to chalk out the programme for the yearlong celebration.

“It should not only celebrate the achievements of the past five decades, but also try to provide insights into film as a medium and look at how the film society can meaningfully contribute to the industry in the future,” Mr. Kasaravalli said.

Significantly, the society wants to restart an annual international film festival from this year. It was Suchitra Film Society that began the Bengaluru International Film Festival in 2006, spearheaded it for three years and later handed it over to Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy. “We want to restart the Suchitra film festival. We had planned for an international film festival to kickstart the golden jubilee celebrations. But the pandemic has forced us to postpone it to November or December. The festivities will conclude with another international film festival in August 2021 and we plan to continue holding the festival in August every year,” said B. Suresha, filmmaker and president of the society.

There are also plans to start a film school. “An announcement will be made in January and classes will begin from the next academic year. The school shall offer a one year diploma course and a two year PG diploma course,” he added.

H.N. Narahari Rao, one of the founding members of the society in 1971, has suggested that a digital film library be established in the society. Reminiscing the origins of the society, he said Mayura Film Society that began in 1969 in the city was so active and popular that bagging a membership was a Herculean task. “When I asked the founders of Mayura Film Society for a membership, they suggested we should start a society of our own. And so Suchitra was born,” he said.

Historically, film societies played a key role in providing accessibility to international films, but that is no longer the case. “With access to films almost free, film societies have moved to curation, appreciation, film perspective and education worldwide. Suchitra made that shift in the early 2000s,” said N. Vidyashankar, artistic director, BIFFes and a Suchitra veteran.

But what has remained a big challenge is a gap between the film society, the audience and the Kannada film industry.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by K.V. Aditya Bharadwaj / Bengaluru – August 30th, 2020