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The Magic
Makers
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| Arpana Caur’s extensive folk and tribal art
collection gives a closer look into her special regard for the folk arts of India, their influence on her own self-expression, and some of the challenges affecting their appreciation and
evolution in our times. The Magic Makers catalogues this eminent
artist’s treasure. Excerpts: |
 A
live tradition, vibrant and deep rooted in people’s blood,
folk art reveals a massive variety of form and theme. Her 10-12
thousand-year-old creative culture and a wide-spread art
geography apart, India has hundreds of ethnic groups scattered
from north to south and east to west, each with its own art form
representing its taste, needs, aspirations, aims, joys, sorrows
and struggles. Regional peculiarities, nature around and a
different pattern of day-today life apart, their art reveals
each group’s ethnic distinction and creative talent. Not in
the ‘word’, these primitive peoples discovered in the ‘form’
their diction which gave expression to their joy, jubilation and
intrinsic warmth and announced their rejection of violence,
eroticism and ugly. |
They
work, but are neglected
Though tribal women of Orissa
have done better in politics than their counterparts from the general
castes, they are given a raw deal at the time of ticket allotment.
Political parties need to do a re-think on their ticket distribution
strategy, writes Manipadma Jena
FOR
a decade, Mukta Jhodia (49), hitching a ride on her husband's bicycle,
would go into remote tribal villages of Kashipur in Orissa's Rayagada
district to dissuade people from giving up their farmland for bauxite
mining. Mukta received the Chingari Award instituted for women
fighting corporate crime.
Vignettes
from Swat Valley
The Swat Valley in Pakistan
has been in the news for all the wrong reasons — terrorism,
violence, refugees’ exodus, starvation and the lot. But in the
beginning of the 20th century this mini Switzerland of Pakistan was
known for its natural beauty and chukor hunting, recalls Lieut-Gen
Baljit Singh (retd)
THE
Swat Valley acquired the sobriquet "Paris of Baltistan" in
the first quarter of the 20th century. But for the outdoors sportsmen
the valley’s charms lay elsewhere. First and foremost was its
incomparable natural setting, in comparative easy reach and secondly,
for its well-earned reputation for providing the cream of chukor
hunting in Asia.
Art on hire
Dhananjaya Bhat
on how one can rent masterpieces for home and office
WITH
the fall in prices of paintings by India’s master artists, a new
market has opened up. Now you can hire paintings for your office or
home on a monthly basis. This
hiring of painting for offices and homes is a recent phenomenon in
India dating barely two years.
T-shirt
for all times
If you use a bit of your
imagination, a T-shirt can be one of the most versatile
commodities in your wardrobe, says Pheroze
Khareghat
OVER
the years, wearing a T-shirt has become the acme of informality. In
fact in the US many psychologists suggest that managements should wear
T-shirts to discussion meetings with labour unions so that an air
informality and easy conviviality prevails.
And
now, Tagore cuisine
A writer, poet and musician,
Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore was a diehard food lover too.
Recently in the Viswa Bharati archives, some menus were discovered
that he had collected from international events. Thus was born a café-cum-restaurant
in Kolkata, exclusively dedicated to Tagore’s favourite dishes,
writes Sreya Basu
MANY
are familiar with Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s literary
works and songs, but ever thought of tasting the Gurudev’s favourite
dishes? Now Kolkata can boast of a cafeteria-cum-restaurant, Caf`E9
Th`E9, where people can get a taste of Tagore’s culinary
indulgences.
Rise of the phoenix
THE 80-year-old sandstone lamppost near Rashtrapati Bhavan that collapsed in a squall recently will be restored soon.
The
power formula
Political issues have been
used repeatedly as a theme by film-makers
down the years, writes M.L. Dhawan
Politics
has always provided food for thought to Indian film-makers.
Surprisingly, this topic never fails to entice the audience. India is
the world’s largest democracy; it is not surprising that politics
appears as a subject frequently in our Hindi films. Prickly political
issues prompt the film-makers to present their point of view in films.
Riding
the Slumdog wave
Indian films’ sales pitch
was at its peak at Cannes this year, writes Saibal
Chatterjee
WITH
Slumdog Millionaire having made waves on the global scene,
Indian movie themes and film-makers reaped the benefits in the
international sales and co-productions arena at the recent Cannes Film
Market.
Big B’s big ambition
Bollywood
megastar Amitabh Bachchan,
whose antipathy towards the media is well known, has said he “would
like to be a journalist”. “I would like to be a journalist.
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