Mountain Magic
Naresh Pandit is enthusing contemporary truths onto his canvases that have elements of Pahari art, says Parbina Rashid
 Naresh’s paintings seem familiar, yet not. Since they come under the title ‘An Exhibition of Pahari Art’, we try to relate his works to the usual Pahari paintings we had seen earlier. The two-dimensional forms, trademarks of a Pahari painting, are there, but the expressions are not what one would expect. The earthy beauty of Himachali women is not lost, but the usual soft and dreamy expression is being replaced by harsh reality, what one can safely describe as the face of a workingwoman. That, in a nutshell, is the changing face of Pahari art.

vignettes The story of Weeping Willows I am not Napoleon Bonaparte, but like him, I love Weeping Willows. There are beautiful and healthy Weeping Willow trees in Fairlawn near Dhalli where the Himachal Pradesh Institute of Public Administration is located. There are these trees on the roadside of Shoghi Bazaar. For whom the willows weep: A view of the sorrowing branches at the Himachal Pradesh Institute of Public Administration

Shimla Diary
Taste of Goa
Tourists visiting the ‘Queen of Hills’ to celebrate Christmas and New Year had a taste of Goa in Shimla. The Goan food and cultural festival organised by Himachal Tourism at their main hotel, Holiday Home, here was a big attraction during the Christmas and New Year festivities. People danced their way into the year on foot tapping English and Goan numbers rendered by Panjim.

Happy New Year: New Year revellers continued to party day in and night out in Shimla.

chamba Diary
Ahead of time
The prestigious Chamera Hydroelectric Project (Stage-III) has achieved tremendous success by day-lighting a 366 mt-long diversion tunnel in the cliffs of rocky banks of the Ravi at Kharamukh dam site in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. The project, which is being spearheaded by Chief Engineer (In charge) K. K. Joshi, is ahead of its scheduled time.

Vanishing arts

Where have the folk theatre, songs and dances of Himachal Pradesh vanished? Ask Mr Tara Pandit, a 73-year-old renowned Banthara folk theatre artist of the now defunct Prachin Banthara Club, Malwana in the Mandi district and he poises in pain and then replies, “Today’s generation is literally singing and dancing to the filmy pop tunes. STEP IN TIME: The performing arts of Himachal Pradesh are crying out for promotion and patronage.

Dalhousie falls prey to land mafia
Dalhousie has fallen into the hands of land mafia. A few have begun excavations for multi-story flats in Upper Bokrota, which is a high security zone of this hill station and houses sensitive military gadgetry.

Lack of water keeps residents at bay
Lack of water supply to the Basaal based housing colony of the Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) is now compelling people to look for alternative accommodation. The repeated assurances given by the authority have failed to address the problem.

Cake of humanity 
It was a novel way of partying for a cause. Everyone partied through the night to welcome the New Year but shelling out some extra bucks, which will make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children, was a great gesture.