“Much has been talked in seminars about the propagation and promotion of Indian classical musical art but without evolving a national consensus for a concrete plan and its implementation involving stalwart music maestros, corporate houses, including broadcasting or telecast channels, government public and above all the media. There should be accredited committees on regional and national levels for monitoring the process,” this suggestion comes from Pune-based classical vocalist Suhasini Kortakar, former regional director of AIR-Panjim, in the city for a lecture and performance at the Department of Music, Panjab University.

She says that private TV channels must be convinced to beam classical music programmes or semis like the Akashvani. “The complex classical bandishes, however, can be made more tuneful and catchy to arrest the attention of any naive music lovers who will swallow down the intricate compositions later on,” claims the foremost proponent of famous Bhendi Bazar Gharana. “NGOs like Spic-Macay and others are too working for the same mission but without any coordination with other agencies,” she says. After an interactive session with the faculty and a live performance at the department, she shares her experience as a performer and senior executive.

Holding allegiance to the Bhendi Bazar gharna, made famous by Ustad Aman Ali, TD Jonrikar, Amir Khan Saheb, Lata Mangeshkar and others, Suhasini maintains that promotion of his gharana is a paramount mission of her life. She had left the lucrative post of regional director, AIR to fully engage herself in the noble pursuit. Busy documenting over one hundred of her own classical compositions under her Takhhlus “Niguni” and other senior gharana maestros, Suhasini was initiated into music by her singer mother Sarla and father Ramrao Kortakar a BOAC executive in Karachi.

With many classical albums to her credit, Suhasini proclaims that one must strive for perfection in one’s chosen realm with dedicated devotion.

Theatre must engage and engross. So, the audience believe and enter auditoriums only too eager to be enraptured. Pray, then what is this theory of alienation that not only often crops up in defining many elements of contemporary theatre and in explaining the works of great mettle but also creating an emotional distance between them and the characters on the stage. Credited to the famous German playwright, poet and theatre director Bertolt Brecht, it ‘prevents the audience from losing itself passively and completely in the character created by the actor and which consequently leads the audience to be a consciously critical observer.’

In simple words, the idea is to remind viewers time and again that what they are watching is not a slice of life but theatre. So, they must not delude themselves, rather must ponder over what is being shown. Sounds humbug? Well, to theatre person Umesh Kant it sure does. He quips, “It makes little sense. Imagine first creating the illusion, then breaking the spell and yet expecting the audience to still be interested in your play. It is a methodology that doesn’t work with me.” Interestingly, even when he was a student of the Department of Indian Theatre, Panjab University, Chandigarh, it left him unimpressed.

Yet Brecht’s influence on contemporary Indian theatre has been far reaching. Without doubt, he has shaped Indian theatre’s growth and vision in many profound ways. Celebrated theatre director Neelam Mansingh Chowdhury puts things in a different perspective and states: “It was Brecht who was influenced by Indian, nay entire Asian theatre, tradition.” Any wonder, To be more Brechtian is to be more Indian is the title of V Dalmia-Lüderitz’s essay on the great thespian, the late Habib Tanvir.

Neelam substantiates it further. While teaching Brecht’s theory, when her students at the department fail to strike a chord with Brecht, she says, “Forget Brecht, think Indian, bear in mind our tradition of narration, of what Teejan Bai does. Brecht too reaffirmed that an actor should act in third person and not get carried away by the emotions of his character. So Indian are his ideas, that many like my Naqaals—the traditional actors—who have never heard of Brecht use his techniques all the time.”

Eminent playwright and theatre person Atamjit concurs, “In Indian context the concept of intimate theatre and of employing sutradhars, nat and natni always existed. It is only if viewed against Elizabethan or proscenium theatre that his ideas like directly addressing the audience come as path breaking.”

However, theatrepersons concede that without doubt, it was Brecht who theorised what may have been known to Indian tradition all along. As for directly translating his theory on stage, Atamjit insists that no play is written with a theory in mind. Besides, often lines fuse and overlap. Taking a cue from his latest play Mungu Comrade, he observes, “In one particular scene, actors from the audience come up to the stage to address them but then one of the actors is the key character heightening the dramatic tension of the play not diffusing it anyway.” What he is suggesting is that in theatre the line between alienating and engaging is thin and akin to walking the razor’s edge.

Neelam makes a clear-cut demarcation between magic and hypnotism. “Theatre is meant to create magic, not cast a mumbo jumbo and lead you up the garden path devoid of rationality and reality.” Besides, she believes that Indian philosophy has never been close ended and multiple interpretation of reality, much like Brecht’s ‘complex-seeing’, is steeped in Indian ethos, mythology and tradition. So, when she recently revisited her play Nag Mandla she chose a different end. Interestingly, call it Brechtian influence or whatever, the famed playwright Girish Karnad had penned two ends for the play, thus leaving room for possibilities.

Without doubt, theatre must provoke the intellect, not emotions. Yet, this is possible only if theatre manages to take its viewers along. It cannot digress from being art and become a political slogan.

In that context, while many like Neelam feel that Brecht’s deep abiding belief in communism might be outdated today, the recent staging of adaptation of Brecht’s The Exception and the rule (as Saudagar) proved that many of his ideas of social justice and oppression, of class divide would remain perennially relevant.

So, will his distancing effect… only to be carefully and adroitly used. With or without the illusory effect, theatre cannot be allowed to become an alien entity. The emotional distance with the audience that Brecht implored must not distance the audience from theatre itself. Nor should it take them away from logic and analysis. Good theatre will captivate as well as compel its audience to introspect, even make them ‘act’ as jury. Any play that falls short doesn’t make the grade—Brechtian or otherwise.

Oscar-winning veteran actor Ben Kingsley, who will be seen in Bollywood director Leena Yadav's crime thriller Teen Patti as a narrator, says he loves working with women directors and responds well to them as they see things men miss. "I just did two other films with female directors. I like being directed by females. They bring a different eye through the camera and an unusual perspective," Kingsley said in an interview.

Yadav is the third woman to direct Kingsley. "Female directors see things that guys miss. I respond well to female direction. The ego is in a different place. They are focussed on fundamental things like narrative and human behaviour rather than issues that may be distorted by the male ego," the Hollywood actor said before leaving for Abu Dhabi.

In Teen Patti, he has teamed up with Hindi film industry's megastar Amitabh Bachchan. He, however, warns that his is a very small part in the movie, but he enjoyed working with Indian cast and crew.

"It's a very, very small part...I keep appearing in little scenes in the film as a storyteller." "It was an opportunity to work with an Indian crew again after Gandhi. It was an opportunity to work with Mr. Bachchan, who is an icon in his own field. It's interesting to mix cultures in a film to see how different people from different backgrounds can be so very synchronized and work together. We worked very intensely. We hit a very quick working rhythm," Kingsley said.

The actor, known for his astonishing performance in Gandhi, says he turned down a lot of acting assignments in 2009. "I respond to what's offered to me. I feel having portrayed one character (Gandhi) so effectively, I need not use the same set of muscles to portray other characters. Luckily, directors and producers like to stretch me and offer me a variety of roles.” — IANS

We all know technology has made the world a smaller place. From buying to flying to selling, there's a world waiting to be explored on the Net. And, since the inception of the web apart from communication (read mails), online commerce has enjoyed a good fan following. Increasing its base and products with every passing day, Thursday saw Sharat Digumarti, head- categories, eBay India, unveiling the eBay India Census Guide 2009. And, more to it he also disclosed some fascinating facts and trends on 'What's Hot' in the city and online shopping trends.

"Chandigarh ranks tenth in all-India online shopping trends," says Sharat. And, this is the reason we chose the city for unveiling our census guide."

Well, we knew city people love shopping but didn't know they are enthusiastic about shopping online too. Adds Sharat, "The city has high online business potential. Last year it ranked 18. But this year it has raised its rank to number 10. It's quite a leap and shows people's interest in online shopping."

So, what do people shop for? "From gadgets to collectors items like coins, we have people shopping for books, home accessories and magazines also. Apart from that, we have sellers who export their stuff to other countries." That's interesting. About the exported items, he says, "Home security products, auto accessories, chandeliers and herbal products are regularly shipped from this part of the country."

Giving some facts, he says, "There are certain Sectors in the city that buy only certain kind of products. Like Sector 37 and 41 have buyers of Telgu movies, Sector 44 sees people buying a lot of coins, Sector 36 has a liking for books, mostly finance and education related and Sector 44 has people buying only comic and cookery books." That's pretty interesting.

Ask him is if online shopping base growing and he says, " It's increasing day-by-day. Earlier, the Net was all about communication but now the next big thing is e-commerce."

So, do people order stuff from abroad too? "Yes, with our global easy buy they can shop from anything across the globe." And, what products are ordered the most is technology-related things that are not available in the country, we learn.

jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com

Incidents, reactions and their protagonists, all bring together a smorgasbord of memories, which reveal themselves when the time is opportune. Suddenly the world gets smaller and we realise that time has raced ahead, bringing us into the present. You visit a home or smell the perfume of a million flowers and there is a sense of deja vu. The heart screams, "I have been here before!" but the logical mind counters any such notion.

The year was 1984. The Punjab turmoil was at its height. Every day, the curfew kept us all indoors. My sister Binny and her husband Clive were in from the UK. Their visit was coming to an end but it was impossible to get out of Chandigarh. They had a midnight flight from Delhi. Ma rang up the Deputy Commissioner who promised to help. The next day he arranged for an Army vehicle to take the couple to Ambala, from where they would entrain for Delhi. In view of the frequent ambushes and massacres, the vehicles were bristling with jawans, armed to the teeth. Binny and Clive reached Delhi on time, thanks to a resourceful, compassionate DC.

When a friend invited us to the home of Raghbir Singh and his wife Manju Dutta, we went, a bit chary of meeting new people. The moment we set eyes on each other, there was that familiar feeling of déjà vu. Sitting in the sun, amidst contrasting tiers of chrysanthemums, tenderly nurtured by Manju, we recalled the day when Raghbir, still tall, straight and handsome, had come to the rescue of a stranded couple. Relationships had finally come full circle!

Manju's compassion and social work is known to all. After retiring as Director Health Services, Haryana, she formed a team and over three years, gave free medical care to the poorest of poor in the Tricity. Her children live with them, a perfect example of family values in the midst of disintegrating institutions.

As we walk through a house that has marble floors and tall glass windows, there is an illusion of limitless space allowing the free flow of air scented by flowers and softened by good human interaction. A tiny courtyard is embellished with evergreens and terracotta statues. It seems perfect for meditation and a soothing silence. Manju designed it all. Every painting, carpet, furnishing and sculpture is of muted colours. Each blends and yet stands out in its own corner. The golden couple exudes charm and grace from a bygone era. Those were charmed days. Some of us are nostalgic about them, but when I see my sons and their families, busy in their chosen areas, the grandchildren attending art and ballet classes, or serving at soup kitchens and caring for the homeless, I know that there are shining moments in the years ahead too. People like Raghbir and Manju hand out traditions, which make their descendents stand tall and that is their valuable legacy to the future.

It's time to be touched. A warm, healing touch to recover humanism, leave aside the stress and to be pampered by a medium called art. The Hyundai Face India, Art for Heart exhibition's first season by Serah G and Viren K, captures the uniqueness and brightness of life on canvas. Celebrating the gentle touch are over 60 works displayed at the Fine Arts Department of Panjab University by korean artist Serah G.

The series called Big Hands shows emotions of a woman in different mudras or hand gestures expressing moods and communicating ideas on a long silk canvas, be it the saree, the expensive kimono or the paper silk. Various forms of gestures from Indian dancing mudras, some natural hand movements and Buddhist mudras like Dharamchakra, Bhoomisparsh, and Dhyan mudra are being represented in her own style, she has covered the hands with henna. Another of her series on Happy Cats, inspired from Japanese 'Maneki neko' or the cat calling for health and happiness, Serah has transformedteh spiritual pets into glamorously yet inspiration art work.

The traveling art concert will move to Shimla next and then 10 cities across India in Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Gwalior, Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai and will also hold workshops and seminars with the eminent artists in the country. — TNS

On till Sunday

A packed Stu C, even more packed AC Joshi library, busy sidelanes around Gandhi Bhavan, relaxing on the green spaces and soaking in the winter sun. Exam or no exams, Panjab University campus is where all the buzz lies. Just to add to the winter delight were the Chrysanthemums.

An added attraction inside the botanical garden in front of the VC office, chrysanthemum put on quite a display to brighten the already high-activity day for students. What else? On a regular sunny day the usual humdrum finds its epicenter at Student Center and come winters and campus green spaces become an open to all community gathering arena. Personal round table conferences, gossip sessions, picnic spots, lunch dates…everything happen under the sun, literally. An indispensable part of the winter sun, the chai is another campus hit. — TNS