ADC told to hold education society poll
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, August 21
The Maharishi Dayanand University (MDU) authorities have reportedly directed the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Sonepat, to hold the elections of the Tika Ram Education Society, Sonepat, in order to constitute an elected body of the management. The Additional Commissioner holds the charge of the administrator of the society.

After receiving the directions, the administrator has reportedly taken a decision to hold the election and before commencing the election process, the administrator sought the copies of the society’s constitution. The administrator has also demanded the list of the life members of the society.

According to information, there were 3,263 members in 1994. But when Mr Lakhi Ram Rathi became the president of the society, he started to enrol new members and the number of members reportedly increased up to 13,000. However, an appeal was filed in the Supreme Court against the new enrolment and the apex court upheld it.

Now it is presumed that the old members will only take part in voting during election. Most of the members of the society reportedly reside in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and other districts of the state and many of them might have expired also.

CULTURE

ARTSCAPE
Blending rhythm and movement on canvas
Tribune News Service

Rhythm in Colour is an exhibition of paintings by Komala Varadan at the Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Francaise de Delhi from August 22 to Sept 1.According to art critic Suneet Chopra, Komala Varadan, like many creative people, finds herself in different fields of expression. She is a dancer, an artist, a photographer and a writer. Dance, however, is her chosen field of expression.

A student of the noted Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai, she became a well-known Bharatanatyam exponent while still in her teens. Not content merely to repeat tradition, she branched out into the broader field of choreography, but within the framework of a one-person exposition of a theme, rather as in the single-person performances of folk drama like Harikatha.

Being steeped in dance, her paintings reflect her passion faithfully. They are a blend of rhythm and movement. The rhythm of her brush strokes evokes the movement on the surface of the canvas. Colour, tone and texture orchestrate this process. The present exhibition explores a wide universe of dance forms. The range is extraordinary. She takes classical dance forms of India, like the Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Mohiniattam and Odissi in the same sweep as the Indonesian fan dance, European ballet, and folk dances like the bhangra, gidda, lavani and Russian peasant dances.

The discerning viewer will note how the treatment of colour and brush-stroke is in consonance with different dance forms and the sensitivity of the artist to them as a dancer. This is what gives her expression its depth and originality.

Paintings from Misty Heights

Urusvati Centre for Contemporary Art is holding an exhibition of paintings of some of the most renowned nature painters of the country. The exhibition, which begins on August 22, will be on display for a month at the their gallery on Poorvi Marg, Vasant Vihar.

The paintings are the work of the artists who attended an artist camp at the Misty Heights Orchard in Kasauli. In all, 14 artists from Delhi, three from Chandigarh and one from Kurukshetra participated in the four-day camp. 

Shehnai maestro honoured 

Renowned shehnai maestro, Ustad Bismillah Khan was presented with the coveted ‘Aadharshila Shikhar Award’ at a glittering function here. Presenting the award to the maestro, the former Prime Minister, Mr I. K. Gujral, said the Ustad had taken this little-known instrument to the highest form of classical art and has preserved its pristine purity through his dedicated rendition for over half a century now.

Visibly overwhelmed by this honour, he said, it was nice to know that there are still people in our midst who hold art and music in high esteem. Union Minister Saheb Singh Verma also attended the function and spoke highly of the Ustad.

Celebrating India’s cultural heritage and influence

The Centre for Indian Classical Dances staged ‘Asmita: A Celebration of Indian Identity’, to highlight the cultural influences of Indian consciousness and identity.

Bringing together nation’s three cultural icons for the first time ever-Sonal Mansingh (Producer and Director), L. Subramaniam (Music Director) and Kavita Krishnamurthy (Lead Playback Singer), `Asmita’ mapped the landscape of the Indian worldview through exploring range of Indian thoughts in the fields of philosophy, religion, myth, legend and science.

Presented in five segments, ‘Asmita’ explored Indian concepts, symbols and metaphors like bindu (dot), shunya (zero), saptanadis (seven rivers), the symphony of religions in India, culminating in sangam-a confluence of live music, song and dance with the lead artists.

Parikrama at Shoppers’ Stop

Shoppers’ Stop, the lifestyle-shopping destination has once again launched ‘Parikrama’-a festival to redefine, celebrate and enjoy Indian culture. The theme this year is based on the concept of ‘Mela’, the ubiquitous activity, which binds the people of this country together.

Spread over a period of seventeen days, from August 8 to August 24 and across its 13 stores around the country, ‘Parikrama Mela’ will see Shoppers’ Stop buzzing with fun and festivities. Artists from different states of India are showcasing their unique talents.

Dance, music, magic and puppet shows along with palmists, bangle maker, kite maker, bead maker, lamp maker, toy maker, rangoli and mehendi artists will showcase their talents-a veritable feast of art, crafts and culture.

MUSIC ZONE
Extravaganza from breathless musical wonder

Creating history one after another, Shankar Mahadevan is a breathless musical wonder, who literally created musical history in 1999 with his seamlessly breathless musical album. A child prodigy at the age of four, Shankar Mahadevan is all about music, from Classical to Hindustani and fusion to film music.

Keeping the musical tradition alive, Rashtriya Advertising, Sadhna TV channel and Tivoli Garden Resorts came together with Sa Re Ga Ma HMV to launch yet another musical extravaganza at a glittering function at the Tivoli Garden Resorts on Wednesday.