|
|
|
|
|
ART ACHE
If not globally, at least all assertions might hold true for the people of the city, where art at times is bought not for its aesthetic value but for other reasons. Half a dozen art galleries, numerous artists and several qualified art curators, yet the city’s art scene is dull. One among the various reasons is, “A dearth of true art connoisseurs, who are passionate about art, who don’t buy a work art for an artist’s brand value but for its content and know what art is all about,” asserts Tirthankar Bhattacharya, owner, Zazen Art Gallery.
It was in March this year that the gallery opened to the public but since then has managed to sell just five paintings. The art works present here are of renowned city artists like Madan Lal, Prem Singh, Ravinder Sharma, Sanjay Agarwal and Anju Pasricha and Som from Benaras, yet people haven’t shown much interest, as “many don’t know much about art. They need to understand that seeking an art curator’s advice as important as going to a doctor for prescription or an architect to design their house.” The reason why “so-called” art lovers commit a mistake is, “People would go for a painting or even a print by Husain, Raza or Tyeb Mehta, though they hardly know what makes a certain art work great. They go for a painting because their neighbour knows about a certain artist,” rues Bhattacharya. We don’t mind people buying the wrong or the right piece, a popular or struggling artist’s art work, as long as they are buying and providing the much-required impetus to the art scene in Chandigarh. “But are people actually buying art? If yes, then how many?” questions Rajiv Tipnis, an art curator. And we understand his concern, “The city claims to have the highest per capita income. People are financially strong here but when it comes to spending money on buying art, they just aren’t ready to do it.” He feels that the people of the city have a great ability to buy and appreciate art, but art for them still is worth investment. “Art exhibitions in the city hardly do well and the walk-ins are also pretty less. Even when the Indian art is cheapest in the world, people don’t buy it.” With sprawling and luxurious houses, you need quality art also to decorate its walls. “But you don’t see that happening since people prefer to splurge the same money on designer clothes, solitaires or luxury cars,” opines Vandya Bagrodia, owner of Art Folio, a 10-year old art gallery in the city. She says though people have now opened up o the idea of art investment, the response is still far less than expected, “The prime cause is lack of knowledge and interest. People in Delhi feel enthusiastic about an art show, the reason why walk-ins are high. The rest of the harm has been done by the recession this year, which has made people lose confidence in the concept of buying and selling art.” However, all is not lost yet. If people in the city have the ability to appreciate art, all is required a little sensitisation towards art. The city’s renowned photographer, Diwan Manna, feels a concerted effort has to be made from art connoisseurs, artists, administration and educational institutions to help people understand art, “Begin with holding orientation lectures on art for the public, open small art galleries at schools and colleges, employ fine art teachers and all this would help in the dissemination of knowledge and propagation of art.” So, who all are game for it? ashima@tribunemail.com
|
|
Seasonal melody
Arati Ankalikar, Pune: Hailed as the youth icon and one of the top vocalists of the younger generation, Arati Ankalikar is the foremost disciple of Gana Sarawati Kishori Amonkar of Jaipur—Atrauli Gharana. She has also learnt from Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar and Dinkar Kaikini. It was in 1983 that her versatility as a singer came to the fore when she won three gold medals in classical, thumri and ghazal category at the All-India Radio competition. Decorated with Pandit Kumar Gandharv Sanman –2006, she has performed at all the top music festivals in India and abroad during in her concerts in USA, Canada, UK, UAE besides Vedic Heritage Fest in New York. Credited with number of audio albums, she won acclaim as the lead playback singer for Shyam Bengal’s film Sadari Begum. Pandit Arivnd Sharma, Panchkula: Classical vocalist Arvind Sharma is carrying forward the family musical legacy of his father-guru, the acclaimed musicologist Pandit Ramesh Chander Dutt of Gwalior Gharana, founder of the music department at Panjab University. An academician, author and performer, Arvind was the chairperson of the same department from 1997-2000. A proponent of the guru-shisya parampara and the traditional purity in art, Arvind is also the honorary director of Gandharv Maha Vidyalya and still getting advanced training from Gwalior Gharana wizard L.K. Pandit. On invitation from almost all Indian universities, Arvind has disseminated the cultural traditions and sanctity of music to students. The Sansar Bharti has honoured him with the Haryana Kala Vibhuti Sanman. On July 25 at Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan -27
|
|
Awards and all that
The award has been instituted by the Haryana Institute Of Fine Arts, Karnal. Manoj, who turns 73 on July 24, says, "I respect awards, particularly those which do not come as part of a racket. I will personally be present to receive the award and am extremely grateful to Pandit Jasrajji for recommending my name. I love Haryana and Punjab, which is my native place, as the essence of rural India is still alive there. In my 50th year, I will start either From India With Love or Naukrani, based on contemporary events and I am waiting for a proper star cast. I don't want to run behind today's stars, who charge exorbitant fees, and want actors more than stars for my future projects." Challenging the criticism that he forcefully hammers nationalism into his films, Manoj says, "I am not an anti-national that I need to hammer patriotism into my films. Nationalism comes spontaneously to me when I write my scripts." A rare achievement of Manoj, besides directing and acting in memorable films like Shaheed, Gumnam, Upkar and Purab Aur Paschim, is that he openly told Shashi Kapoor not to accept Prem Chopra's role in Upkar. He smiles and clarifies, "I did call him for the character and he readily agreed. We were to meet regarding the script at Kalyanji Anandji's residence. When we met, I did tell him not to accept the character as it would damage his career. So grateful was Shashi Kapoor that he did not ask for any amount during Roti Kapda Aur Makan, he simply accepted what I offered and heard to his scenes from my assistants before giving his shots. He was brilliant when he danced to Aur Nahin Bas Aur Nahin with Zeenat Aman in Roti Kapda Aur Makan."
|
|
Religious rendition
Since the times immemorial, our cultural traditions are enmeshed with philosophic ideals of our deities, saint, poets who has been influencing the socio-cultural life of Indian society. Indian music has contributed a lot to propagate these ideals,” maintains Prof Saubhgya Vardhan Brahspati, a city-based musicologist and vocalist. He opined at the release of his set of four audio cassettes at the Pracheen Kala Kendra on Thursday under the aegis of the Brahaspati Kala Kendra and Research Institute in association with Cosmo Royalz Music. The honour was done by renowned musician Keshav Talegaonkar from Agra. The first album, Gayatri Mantra, with original text sung in ragas, while its Hindi translation has also been put into musical format. The second CD named Mahamantra includes two mantras – Hare Rama Hare Krishna and Om Namo Bhagvate Vasudevaye. The other CD Upasana has been ornamented with seven traditional bhajans of Arya Samaj beautified with novel compositions while Uth Jaag Musafir is a collection of six Bhajanas of Sant Kabir. The bhajanas have been composed by Brahaspati assisted by Sanjeev Kapur and Mehmood Khan. Charan Thakur of Cosmo Royalz added that 15 CDs of classical music by Vidushi Sulochana Brahaspati would be gifted to music lovers in the near future.
|
|
Classic example
A Cultural Talent Search Scholarship and Republic Ray honours followed suit. All of nine years of age, she was the youngest to receive the coveted national award. Meet 11-year-old Mohali wonder Urvi Mancha, an accomplished kathak danseuse of Jaipur Gharana, deeply engrossed in the realms of painting and classical music, an obvious star in the making. A born artiste, Urvi at the age of four amazed the vast crowd at a New Year eve function in Kanya Kumari and won the top prize in the category she was participating. “That is the time we discovered a spark of talent in her,” recall her parents Renu Bala and Arvind Manocha, an officer with Indian Oil Corporation. Back home, she was lucky to learn from kathak exponent Savita Sharma while studying at Nalagarh (MP) and others at Ropar and Shimla later. Presently she is undergoing advance training under Guru Yogesh Sharma and has cleared Sangeet Bhushan from the Pracheen Kala Kendra. But learning Hindustani vocal from her guru, Pandit Yashpal, under the guru-shishya tradition made all the difference. It has improved her pedant, enunciation of musical phrases, bols and thematic content.Urvi had been a regular performer at the Shima summer festival from 2003 to 2005 as also at Basant Utsav 2003 and 2004 winning the Best Baby Dancer award. She has done a number of solo performances at Doordarshan-Shimla, Lions Club and others for raising charity funds. Credited with over 12 regional awards and a brilliant student, Urvi barely finds time for painting and other hobbies. Sharing the best moments she says, “The presentation of Balshree Award-2007 by President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on June 10 last year at the Rashtarpati Bhavan still rejuvenates me. I really worked hard to top from among contestants from the region comprising of six states before the toughest test at the national level final. Similarly winning the Cultural Talent Search Scholarship in 2008, Urvi has scaled a new high as the scholarship entitles her a cash incentive of Rs 7,200 per annum till she attains the age of 20. The administration too bestowed the Republic Day honours on Urvi by felicitating her this year. “Though music and dance is my first love, God willing I desire to be an IAS officer to emulate celebrated kathak maestro Shovana Narayan, also a senior bureaucrat,” says Urvi
|
|
Titan Industries Ltd, announced the much-awaited ‘Titan Exchange Offer 2009’. This annual offer is an endeavour to give customers a chance to buy the best in watches. Customers can bring in any old watch, of any make, in any condition, and receive a flat discount of 20 per cent on their purchase of a brand new watch from Titan. The offer is valid from 23 July to 23 August at all Titan outlets across the country except Kerala. During this offer, consumers can choose from a wide range of Titan watches including collections such as Automatic, Orion, Octane, Raga Diva, Raga Chocolate, Raga Crystals and Edge. Apart from this there one can have a Titan Heritage watch free with every purchase of Nebula—18karat solid gold watch collection. On Xylys, the Swiss premium brand from the house of Titan, customers can avail a Titan Edge watch free. The exchange offer is not valid on Zoop. —TNS
|
|
Hello tunez Kailasa: Chaanndan Mein (Sony Music): Since he burst on the scene with 2002 hit song Allah ke bande, Kailash Kher is improving with every outing. The rough edges noticed in his earlier presentations are getting well rounded and his unusual voice is coming in handy to stand out. Interestingly, the songs that he is presenting - semi-classical with an abundance of folk - sound deceptively simple but are rather difficult to execute. One just has to try to hum them to know the extent of labour that has gone into perfecting them. What is particularly edifying about the present album is that it includes songs of varied moods, with slow mood numbers to full throated folk tunes. Another remarkable factor is that these have been penned by Kailash Kher himself. In music, he has been lent a helping hand by his partners in the band Kailasa, Paresh and Naresh Kamath. The album gets its title from the first song, Chaandan mein, which reminds one of the dunes of Rajasthan. Equally evocative is Rang rang ma, although it uses more western instruments than Rajasthani. But the song which has been particularly dedicated to a place is Bheeg gaya mera mann, although one fails to understand how it is connected with Cherrapunjee, except that Cherrapunjee does get a lot of rain. It is the slow moving songs like Teri yaad mein and the brilliant Ishq ho gaya, which grow on you in the long run. On the other hand, those like Na batati tu and Rang rang ma are filled with joie de vivre. There are two bonus tracks in the album, Albela saajan and Tere naina, making it a total of 10. With this album, Kailash has gone international, since it has been released internationally by New York based World Music Label, Cumbancha Records. One for all
Talking about the soft and sensitive ones first, the trademark Javed Akhtar songs is Kal nau baje sung beautifully by Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam. Looking at the moon at a particular time is the time-tested way many lovers who cannot see each other actually keep in touch with each other. But this is perhaps the first time that this age-old method has been utilised in a film song. Kyun hota hai dil diwana (Shreya Ghoshal and Rahman discovery Javed Ali) has a fast beat but is equally romantic. Mareeze mohabbat la-dawa hua re has a quawwali-like feel to it and has been sung in a powerful fashion by Nikita Nigam, Kirti Sagathia, Hrishikesh Kamerkar and Shankar mahadevan. The remix by DJ Nasha is also enjoyable. Of the tapori genre, the foremost example is Patli gali se nikal bhi jaa by Shanakar Mahadevan. Here the original is much better than the remix.
— ASC |
|
Side Lanes The mornings are overcast. The blistering heat of a week ago seems like a rotten dream. It is once again lawn, verandah and balcony time. Sit out with the morning cuppa and life seems worth living once more. We are all less irritable and the electricity department is coping efficiently. Just one wire melt-down in the sitting room cooler but all is well after a visit from the starving kaarigar who, over the years has not gained a gram as he free lances for a prosperous electrician. As we move out of dark, curtained rooms, forgotten sounds make their decibels heard. The devoted koels have returned to lay eggs in surrogate nests, and disturb my meditation with his unending love call. The barbet hammers away, sounding like an atta-ki-chakki. I wonder how such a small bird can make so much noise. The ridiculous looking grey hornbills are nesting in the jamun trees and seem to harangue each other all day, perhaps over the unfair God-given burden of oversized beaks and ungraceful tails. I had forgotten the lame clapper. He lights a lamp and performs a puja under the peepal tree in front of the minister’s house. As the sun creeps over the horizon, he terminates his silent prayers and walks onto the road, hands raised towards the heavens above. He whirls like a possessed dervish, eyes closed. Nearer his government allotted accommodation, he starts clapping loudly. With each collision of broad hands, his biceps bulge. Perhaps I need to follow his example to firm up my sagging bits and pieces. His face is a picture of serenity and contentment. There is another morning walker, who is clapping too but in a subdued fashion. There is no conviction in his actions and he does not twirl around or walk with his eyes closed. He definitely looks unhappy with life. He needs to be less self-conscious. Maybe we need to start a clappers club in the colony. The old man at the back brings out his tonsils every morning. He believes in brushing the ivories in his mouth, vigorously and long. Thereafter, he makes horrific strangulated sounds to remove any foreign matter from his throat. The midget and the giant get upset and peer over the wall, barking all the while. However, they reserve their shrillest duet for the first visitor of the day— the newspaper boy who dare not enter the driveway. The midget can smell him as he nears Dr Verma’s clinic, almost half a kilometre away. She warns the giant and both wait at the gate and give the ever-smiling lad a hot reception. As he throws the tied roll over the wall, the midget catches it in mid air and pirouettes around until apprehended. By then the headlines are a mash of saliva and newsprint. The giant reserves most of his vitriolic abuse for the garbage man. As Capuchinu has the qualities of a vacuum cleaner, he protects anything that smells, ferments or is chewable. Therefore, Sonu, the garbage collector, is persona-non-grata. By 8.30 am all hawkers and visitors are distant memories. Peace reigns as the morning ragas are over. We wait for the evening when Chinu, the giant, and Stelli, the midget, wait to take on our immediate neighbours, the proud owners of a bookshop. As they wave their fists in the air and ask that the dogs are called away, the evening raga begins and ends with the last ray of Hyperion’s vanishing chariot.
|
|
Three cheers for class fights, parent-teachers meet fright, for good old days! Three cheers for twenty years. And Ex-Vivekites Association is all set to live it up, play it on through Oscar Wilde’s Importance of Being Earnest. An event that’s brought together ex-students of different batches. Students have been sweating it out at rehearsals, for over a month now. This play, set in late 19th century England, brings to light the whims and idiosyncrasies of a group of upper class individuals and provides a biting social commentary on the times through Wilde’s signature wit. First performed at St James Theatre in London on February 14, 1895, it has come to be one of the most-loved British comedies of all times. Passes are available at the school, RCS-17, Nik Bakers -9, Yo China-9. —TNS To be staged at 7 pm Vivek High School Auditorium till July 25
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Who claims art is for all when it is affordable by a few? Who says art unites humanity when it’s a symbol of a buyer’s status? ? And, who said art is for pleasure when not many people have an understanding of it?
The Indian classical music is a living phenomenon with its sublime character permeated with natural emotive feel or mood (rasa) in its varied manifestations. Drawing inspiration from the nature and states of mind (navras), a rich repertoire of raga compositions have been evolved since the ages. There are ragas and festivals contextual to even the seasons. One such festival Malharotsva-2009, being organised by the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Indian National Theatre, takes place in the city on July 25. Meet the performing maestros
He himself believes that Manoj Kumar the actor does not sell any more. But he still has full confidence in his writing and directional abilities. Manoj Kumar, who has completed 50 years in films this year, will be presented the coveted Pandit Jasraj Lifetime Achievement Award by the Chief Minister of Haryana at a huge celebration early next month. That too on the recommendation of Pt Jasraj himself.
The old adage Honhaar virbaan ke chikne chikne paat (coming events cast their shadows before) applies about the ingrained aesthetic talent, dedication and capacity of conscientious riyaz of prodigious Urvi Manocha, who won the Presidential honour of National Balshree in 2007.
Short Kut: The Con Is On (T-Series): Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy know how to cater to classes and masses at the same time. They can compose songs specifically tailored for both with fluent ease. For this film, they tend to tilt more towards the latter side and the end result is a series of tapori but likeable songs. In fact, there are just four songs with two dedicated to each genre but with the help of two remixes, it seems fun time all the way.