Articles by Suja Sukumaran

Alliance Francaise hosted Kaleidoscape 2011 an exhibition of paintings, photographs and sculptures by seven eclectic artists on 10th and 11th December. Philippe Gasparini the Director of Alliance Francaise inaugurated the event. Pic: Suja Sukumaran Ramesh Nambiar, Pooja Surana and Adithi Sarovar presented their paintings while Chandrashekar Naik, Yatiraj M and Hemavathi S L exhibited their sculptures. The group of seven diverse thinkers with their medium and tools captured the imagination of the viewers in the gallery making it an enjoyable evening.Pooja Suvarna a student of Chitrakala Parishath (CKP), gold medalist and rank holder in Arts was thrilled with the prospect…

The bright yellow walls of the building, a bountiful vegetable garden and smiling girls bring cheer to your heart as soon as you step into the '' Baale Mane'' premises. A home among the lush green ragi fields, eucalyptus groves and farm lands serve as the ideal retreat for the girls to grow in a nurturing environment. Baale Mane at Gopalapura. Pic: Suja Sukumaran. 'Baale Mane' meaning 'Girl's Home' is situated in the sylvan surroundings of Gopalapura, near Nelamangala, off Tumkur Road. It was founded in 2001 by Paraspara Trust, an NGO providing shelter and a home for girl children.…

A group of like-minded individuals some curious, some creatively inclined and some very talented assembled at PageTurners Bookstore, MG Road on Saturday, September 3, for a popular event called the Open Show. I probably belong to the category of the curious and creatively inclined and couldn't wait to check it out. Open Show organises events around the world where the public can see compelling work and interact directly with photographers, filmmakers and multimedia producers. Free monthly social screenings give five curated presenters (from students to professionals) 10 minutes to project a 20 image project or 3‐7 min. multimedia work with…

The students of MES College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Malleshwaram, led a very spirited march called the ‘ECO-Ganesha awareness campaign' on Sunday August 28th around the Malleshwaram to raise awareness about the pollution problems associated with immersion of painted Ganeshas made from plaster of paris. Marching for a cause. Pic: Suja Sukumaran They set out into the streets with banners, posters, pamphlets and a street play bound to entertain and educate the public regarding the merits of using clay Ganesha idols instead of painted ones. Every year hundreds of Ganeshas are immersed in the lakes all over Bangalore. Along…

Unnati Center will reverbrate with heavenly music from renowned artists and their excellent accompanists as part of Utsav, from August 6th - 26th. This cultural event is organised around Gokulashtami/ Janmashtami every year. Around 75 musicians, 16 concerts, one lecture-demo, three days of Bhajans and four days of discourses will jump start the musical event. A lot of meticulous planning and arrangements have gone into this mela. Unni Krishnan performing on the weekend. Pic : SGBS The musical festival was kicked off on the weekend with concerts from the sisters Shanmughapriya and Haripriya and Unnikrishnan P. "For 34 years we…

Bangalore Club for Kathakali & the Arts, a non-commercial organisation focusing on the preservation and promotion of Kathakali and other classical art forms, brings to you an evening of Kathakali Padam (Kathakali songs) first time in Bangalore by acclaimed singers Pathiyoor Sankarankutty and Kottackal Madhu. Pathiyoor Sankarankutty and Kottackal Madhu. Pic courtesy: BCKA. Pathiyoor Sankarankutty learned music from his father, the renowned Kathakali singer Late Shri. Pathiyoor Krishna Pillai. He passed Ganabhooshanam from RLV Music College, Thripunithara and subsequently joined Kerala Kalamandalam for training in Kathakali music. Pathiyoor’s mellifluous rendering of padams with elaborate bhava has made him a veteran…

Nrityantar is holding its second Odissi festival Naman 2011 on July 31st, 5.30 pm at Seva Sadan, Malleshwaram. This is the second year of the festival. Nrityantar headed by Madhulita Mohapatra organises Odissi dance classes and lecture demonstration and dance performances. Aruna Mohanty This year's festival is dedicated to the memory of odissi guru Gangadhar Pradhan (1948-2010), who passed away last year. His disciple Aruna Mohanty will enthrall the audience with her recital on the 31st. The event will also have a performance by Rajashri Praharaj along with young artiste Debashish Patnaik from Orissa. Guru Pradhan was an odissi exponent…

The urge to meet people we admire does cross our minds occasionally. By a small probability and quirk of fate when such a meeting does happen then happiness knows no bounds. I finally got a chance to meet one of my favourite writers Amitav Ghosh. Coincidentally, I was in the midst of enjoying ‘The Hungry Tide', lost in the jungles of Sunderbans. Being a voracious reader, Ghosh's writings have satiated me with the fictional world that he spins out with such eloquence. On learning about the book launch of Ghosh's critically acclaimed ‘River of Smoke' from the Ibis Trilogy, I…

A visit to the slums in RT Nagar with Indulekha Vijayasarathy, an active member of ‘Ashvasan' a volunteer organisation was an eye opener. The residents of these slums are taught to make paper bags. "I deliver newspapers and glue. Also help them sell their finished paper bags to the drug stores who pay them. They need help with the marketing and paper supply," says Indulekha, pulling out bundles of newspaper from her car. Ashvasan reaches out to a thousand senior citizens and people in five slums around Bangalore. They provide newspapers to the women in the slums who in turn…

It was a delightful evening for music and dance patrons with the talented and versatile artist Dr. Vyjayanthimala Bali taking center stage, at the lecture-demonstration organized by MES Kalavedi, Malleswaram on June 18th. Vyjayanthimala Bali with Saroja Devi (right), Bharathi Vishnuvardhan (left). Pic: Suja Sukumaran. Vyjayanthimala kept her audience captivated with her amazing performance, vocals and commentary on the various dance segments. Her lec-dem had song compositions (like Ella arumaighalum and Arivenayya) with abhinaya and a brief explanation of the abhinaya padams. She was accompanied by Anahita Ravindran on vocal, Gayathri Sashidharan on natuvanga, Shaktivel Muruganandam on mridangam and Chaitanya…