EDUCATION

NCERT signs MoU with Canadian body
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 20
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has signed an MoU with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), a Canada-based inter-governmental body supporting the spread of education among member nations to jointly develop competence among teachers of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the MoU, COL would provide 80,000 Canadian dollars to support the project and the NCERT would develop distance learning material using various media to enable teachers of selected countries to upgrade their qualifications.

The project envisages not only developing the courses but also assessing the students off and on line. The NCERT, according to the MoU, will print and publish all instructional material, including the development of a handbook to train all personnel involved in providing learner support to teacher education institutions.

The Director, NCERT, Prof J. S. Rajput, described the signing of the MoU as a “beginning of our international intervention”. He added the collaboration with the COL would gain credibility in no time. “It is a catalytic agent in distance education”, he added.

Prof G. Dhanrajan, President and CEO of COL, said that the teaching profession in some South Asian countries, including Bangladesh and Pakistan as well as the sub-Saharan regions, is going through a transition and a course like this “ proposes to help teachers in these countries cope with the trauma of change”.

CULTURE

ARTSCAPE
The art scene has never been so good
Ravi Bhatia

Thanks to the patronage of some of the big business houses and multinationals, the art scene in the National Capital Region has never been so good. Artists, who until recently had to await their turn to exhibit their creations and, simultaneously, peddle their art to eke out a living, now find themselves knee-deep in collectors and art galleries. At least half-a-dozen art galleries have come up in the region in the recent years, giving a fillip to sales of paintings. This is heartening news for those who are planning to pursue art as a career.

Realm of Immortals

Children of Samadhan at the painting exhibition, Realm of the Immortals.

Paharpur Business Centre (PBC) celebrated Children’s day in its own special way by supporting a noble cause and inaugurating a painting exhibition titled ‘Realm of the Immortals.’ Children from Samadhan, an NGO actively involved in the rehabilitation of mentally handicapped and poor children, were invited to be a part of this special occasion.

The highlight of the exhibition was a rare portrait of Chacha Nehru, created by Gopal Krishna Bhobe. Bhobe, born in Maharashtra, was an eminent painter from the pre-Independence period. He was very close to Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru.

PBC has always been a socially committed organisation and PBC Art Gallery is yet another venture in this direction. The PBC’s share of proceeds from art exhibitions goes to support environment initiatives undertaken by it, especially in furtherance of Principle 8 of UN Global Compact. The PCB is thus supporting `Art for Environment’ by providing a platform to eminent as well as upcoming artists to showcase their works of art.

The rare collection of paintings belongs to Padmabhushan Late Shri Ratan Lal Joshi. His son, Mr Ashok Joshi, has displayed this collection at the PBC art Gallery. The works of art are over forty years old. Late Shri Ratan Lal Joshi was a connoisseur of art and a patron of the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in the early 40s. He was conferred the Padmabhushan award for life-long achievement in 1970.

This exhibition is of well-known artists who have left their mark on Indian art history. Most of the paintings are oil on canvas. There are watercolours on paper and those that use mixed media, all of them elegant masterpieces.

The paintings have a well-matched combination of colours that leaves a lasting impression on the viewers. The exhibition, which opened on November 14, will continue till December 10.

Yogic Display

Twenty sculptures, depicting various yogic asanas, mudras, bandhas and kriyas, are on display at the Chandigarh Pavilion at the India International Trade Fair here. Carved out meticulously by Chandigarh-based artist, P. S. Sawhney, the exhibition is a must for those who give importance to their health.

Mithila works

An exhibition of Mithila paintings is on at the India International Centre here. The exhibition showcases the work of Shashikala Devi, Priti Kumari, Sharda Khan and Chandrakala Devi. The exhibition is on till November 28.

Auction at Habiart

The Habiart Gallery at the India Habitat Centre here had a unique art exhibition-cum-auction of contemporary art. The event was organised by ABN AMRO to raise funds for Support, a Non Government Organisation working with street children and slum dwellers for the prevention of AIDS and drug addiction. In all, 52 paintings by some well-known artists were put on display for auction.

Liminal Zones

The Apeejay Media Gallery showcased “Liminal Zones,” an exhibition of three well-known installation artists who have used video and sound in their work. Through Liminal Zones (Limen in Latin means `threshold’), artists Ranbir Kaleka, Vivan Sundaram and Navjot Altaf seek to describe a metaphorical threshold in between different states or realities. Curated by Pooja Sood – the curator for Apeejay Media Gallery, the exhibit was exclusively put up for the first time at the Apeejay Media Gallery with site-specific video installations from November 16-17, 2003.

According to the organisers, Liminal Zones is an intuitive introspection

between abstraction and meaning, exploring the shifting and elusive thresholds between event and testimony, thresholds where light becomes movement and all that is solid melts into darkness. The purpose is to prompt the viewers to make connections between one context and another.

Dialogue with Nature

The workmanship of Daisaku Ikeda.

A Dialogue with Nature, a vivid exhibition of breathtaking photographs by Daisaku Ikeda, President of the Soka Gakkai International - the world’s largest

organisation of Lay Buddhists, is being organised at India Habitat Centre from 22nd to 30th November, 2003.

A world-renowned thinker, philosopher and writer, Ikeda is also an avid amateur photographer with a penchant for scenic landscapes and natural beauty. Since its debut in Paris in 1988, the exhibition has toured over 70 cities in 33 countries and has attracted more than 7.5 million people. According to Cornell Capa, of the US-based International Centre of Photography, Ikeda’s pictures are “replete with his sense of natural beauty and love for peace and friendship, and touch the viewers’ hearts”. These photographs have been taken during the brief interludes in his travels. A unique feature of his collection, which amazes many professional photographers, is that he does not use a viewfinder to compose a picture. “I use my heart to photograph, and not the viewfinder”, he says. His photographs express his passion for life, his love for nature and reflect a sense of peace and tranquillity. He describes his photographs as a `struggle to capture the truth’.

Full Circle

The Full Circle, the famous avant-garde book shop in the prestigious Khan Market of the Capital, is holding its second exhibition of unique works of art by some of the famous artists. On display are the works of six artists, including that of Chandrakanta Das, a well-known picture conservator and art restorer. The other artists whose works have been exhibited at this event are Vinita Chand, Vijaya, Srinivas and Dinesh Ram.