COURTS

Kalwa case accused in judicial remand

Panipat: Mr Rajinder Goel, Duty Magistrate, today remanded Prakash, one of the accused in the Kuldip Kalwa murder case, to five days’ judicial remand. Prakash was reportedly arrested last night. The police had booked Prakash and Durjand, both members of the Surinder Kala gang, on the statement of Mr Jagdish, an ASI, who was in charge of the security of Kuldip on the day the gangster was killed on the court premises here.

Meanwhile, a maternal uncle of Kuldip and an advocate of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Mr D. S. Malik, while blaming the police for not protecting Kuldip, has threatened to move the high court in case the police do not do a fair investigation. Blaming the police for framing Kuldip in various cases, including the Pritam Ahuja and Joginder Kaur murder cases, Mr Malik claimed that Kuldip was not named in any of the FIRs registered against him. TNS

CULTURE

ARTSCAPE
Graphic images of urban life through the 
eyes of a photographer
Garima Pant

The workmanship of Sandeep Biswas.

One can find the reality in his awe-inspiring photographs. Meet Sandeep Biswas, whose first solo exhibition scheduled to held in the Capital from April 13, titled ‘Reflections’, is a glaring example. ‘Reflection’ - the photographic works, which he had done in Japan during his Japan Foundation Fellowship term, is a remarkable collection. His works will be on view from April 13 to the 21 at The Academy of Fine Arts & Literature.

He calls his works exhibited here as “a series of urban graphic images capturing not just one aspect of Japan. It is very different from what people have been capturing in the past. It is not photojournalistic work but more of fine art photography.”

He also adds that there is no manipulation of the images that he has captured. “They are shown as they were in reality,” Biswas says. He found the country a very difficult place to capture in his images because of their immaculate and systematic planning. His images certainly stand out and are in an entirely different league. Most of his previous works are done in black and white and this is the first time he has tried his hands at ‘serious’ colour photography.

Photography being his passion and hobby right from his school days, he found himself back to it after trying his hands at advertising for a few years. His passion has won him many awards, the last and certainly not the least being All India Award from All India Fine Art & Craft Society for photography. He has also participated in many group exhibitions of photography and his works adorn many private collections both in India and abroad.

Thumri Festival

Rita Ganguly at the Thumri Festival.

A Thumri Festival was organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) at the Kamani Auditorium. The opening day witnessed the performance from the doyen of the Patiala Gharana, Ustaad Mazhar Ali Khan, Ustaad Jawaad Ali Khan and Ustaad Raza Ali Khan. The trio, who have learnt the nuances of the genre from their grandfather, the legendary Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, displayed a brilliant mix of skills and artistry. Celebrated Thumri singer Rita Ganguly held the audience spellbound.

Purnima Chaudhary, a disciple of Girija Devi and Pandit Kanan, who has also made her mark as a Dadra, Nori, Tapppa and Kaja singer, also charmed the audiences. Noted singer Begum Akhtar and Shanti Hiranand gave a stellar performance. Thumri, which is essentially a shringar rasa pradhan abhinayak sangeet, has given the world of music noted exponents, like Bade Ghulam Ali, Begum Akhtar, Siddheshwari Devi, Bhaiya Ganpat Rao etc.

Toonz Animation

Toonz Animation India has decided to deploy the internationally trained and experienced manpower at its disposal for training activities, in order to meet the demand of trained personnel in the animation industry.

The Toonz Animation School will provide intensive training of international standard by a faculty of experts.

The school will conduct a six months course in animation and layout and a four months course for on the job training.

Cascading colours in a desert

Beauty in the desert - Ms Sodhi’s landscape. Manjit Sodhi and her Mughal painting,  Lord Krishna enjoying the rain.

To begin with, it was just a foray into what Manjit Sodhi dubs “the confluence of colours”. Almost akin to a child trespassing into a world of cascading lines with the gay abandon of an explorer. A decade later, this intrusion has blossomed into something more serious. Manjit has graduated from dabbling in landscapes, which continue to enthral her, to Mughal paintings. With that, the transition is almost complete: Now, anything and everything inspires her art, the instant anything makes an indelible impression on her mind, she transfers the imprint on canvas.

Ms Sodhi places her affair with art in perspective: “I have been abroad for a decade or so, hopping from Manila to Abu Dhabi to Kuwait. For Indians settled abroad, images of the sub-continent, howsoever fleeting, hold an eternal appeal. I have tried to capture these images on canvas.” Her husband, K. J. S. Sodhi, is the Counsellor at the Indian embassy in Kuwait.

Needless to say, Manjit has her roots in India. She is a gold medallist in economics from Punjabi University, Patiala, and has won the prestigious Gadgil award. Her brush with colours began in Manila, where her husband, an IFS officer, was posted. There, looking for moorings, she anchored herself to art and engaged a tutor to teach her the use of colours and lines.

Soon, she was attempting life-size paintings. To date, she has 45 works in her ensemble. In 1989, she even held an exhibition in Manila. In 1992, some of her works were exhibited at Abu Dhabi. Incidentally, both the shows were aimed at raising money for charity. As her horizon broadened, so did the canvas. Charcoal and silk paintings became an extension of her art.

Manjit’s nimble fingers found other outlets: Today, she is adept at making Japanese tapestries. It is this penchant for painstaking detail that marks her other works, including macramé.

She is currently teaching economics and art at the Carmel School, Kuwait. One day she would like to open an art gallery and teach children to paint. Her daughters share her enthusiasm for paintings and help her out. Each time she visits India, she returns with transient images that she transfers on canvas. What more does one need in a distant land. OC