ARTS and CULTURE

On 8th September every year tens of thousands of people throng the St Mary's Church to celebrate St Mary's feast. This 130 year old church has been attracting devotees since its inception. History of the churchIt is said that christians from Tamil Nadu came down here during the 17th Century and built a small village, ‘Bili akki palli.' Thus named for the white rice they cultivated and also a number of white birds were found in those rice fields. The people, in order to practice their religion, built a hut and named it ‘Chapel of Kannakai Madha.' Eventually this became…

Commercial Street, the fashion street of Bangalore turned even more colourful on Sunday the September 2nd. Around 100 participants shortlisted from an earlier preliminary competition gathered to display their talents in the art of Rangoli.Jyothi Kanagal, a participant. Pic: C R Sridhar‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');});The event was the grand finale of ‘Ranga Rang,’ the Rangoli Utsav organised as a part of the 50th Bengaluru Ganesha Utsava celebrations by Shri Vidyaranya Yuvaka Sangha, Basavanagudi. The main objective of this initiative was to nurture the artistic talents.The winner will walk away with 100 grams of gold.Participants, largely women,…

Two photo contests are open for all enthusiastic shutterbugs. One is focussed on city-nature interaction and other is for photographs of Kaikondrahalli lake.The contests are open to all and there is no entry fee. Selected photographs from both contests will also be exhibited in Hyderabad during the second week of October, at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the United Nation's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The pictures get a chance to be seen and discussed by the hundreds of government officials, policy makers and other delegates from around the world who will attend…

We organised a street exhibit on the Brigade Road, as a part of the Bangalore Weekend Shoots photography group, that I am part of, to commemorate the World Photography Day 2012. The response was good. Street exhibit on Brigade Road. Pic: Santanu Majumdar Many wanted to take the prints home and it was a whole day event.We pasted close to 60 images on a wall. The pictures are still on the Brigade Road, on a construction site. You may find some images left if you go now! Street exhibit on Brigade Road. Pic: PeeVee The participants were Akash Bhattacharya, Santanu…

Balasubramanyam S, 59, popularly known as Bali, a professional musician and singer has enriched the world of music and enthralled the audience with his artistry. He lives in Jayanagar 7th Block with his family.With passion and immeasurable love for music, he has touched the soul of music in every sense. In 2000-01, Karnataka State Sangeeta Nrutya Academy honoured him with ‘Karnataka Kalashree' (Sakala Vaadya Kalaanipuna) in recognition of his contribution to the music field. Balasubramaniam founded Ramya Cultural Academy in 1993. Pic: Sankar C G Balasubramanyam founded Ramya Cultural Academy, a charitable trust, in 1993, in his own house, aimed…

In Kannada, "HABBA" means festival, "ANNA" means food. HABANA is not only for food, but also crafts, games, celebration, cultural activities etc,. This was designed to give residents a platform for showcasing their cookery skills as well as develop some entrepreneurship skills in showcasing their items to fellow residents. There were many game stalls for kids. Theyyam. Pic: KumarPot hitting. Pic: KumarThiruvathira. Pic: KumarTug of war. Pic: KumarSingari Melom. Pic: KumarAthappoo. Pic: Kumar‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');});This time Onam celebration was also added along with it. Block wise Athappoo (flower carpet) competition was held. Mahabali (the King) came…

Dreamscope Theatres’ play ‘The Forest’  was presented at JSS Auditorium in Jayanagar on August 5th. The play was written and directed by Puja Goel; she also is the founder of the group. She wrote the play 15 years ago. The Forest presents a play for children but sends a message to adults making them aware about the depleting forest. This play engages a child’s psychology and her decision to save the forest. The foresters. Pic: Abhishek Angad At the centre, the play is from the last remains of the earth-forest. The foresters, the flowers, trees, animals and butterflies, believe that…

Bangles made out of leftover woollen threads and plastic flowers. Earrings made from old silk sarees and paper chips. Cute Indian breed puppies for adoption. Stalls full of second-hand clothes, bags and shoes for reusing. The West calls it the yard sale, we call it - ‘Reuse and Recycle mela’!After a successful fourth edition of the flea market, the fifth edition turned out to be even better. AICOBOO Grounds in BTM 1st Stage saw large participation from the buyers as well as the sellers. Around 50 sellers participated while the mela saw over 700 visitors during the day.  Upcycled wine…

Shridevi Mahadevan quit her well paying software professional job and started a performing and fine arts enterprise-‘Navarasa’ in Koramangala in 2009. 34-year-old Shridevi, dancing since her childhood; she learned Bharatnatyam, and later Kathak. She also had passion for theatre and worked with Bangalore based Script Peoples Theatre for several years. Shridevi Mahadevan. Pic courtesy: Shridevi Mahadevan It was in  the year 2009 when she was doing one-year Executive Management course at IIM, that she decided to channel her love for performing arts into an entrepreneurial venture Predominantly focused on dance, Navarasa also imparts developmental theatre training, experimental workshops in pottery,…

Citizen Matters, in association with Red Frames is hosting a photography exhibition, on June 16 and 17, at two venues in South Bangalore.The selected images are from ‘Frames of my City’ contest held late last year, that witnessed a spectacular response. The travelling exhibition gathers the collective talents and perspectives of amateur as well as professional photographers across India. Moving from online to print, to a collector book to exhibitions across India, ‘Frames of my City’ has made a tangible, valuable impact in the field of photography. Jayanta Roy posing next to his work titled 'Lost'. Pic: Yogaraj Mudalgi A…