ARTS and CULTURE

Born to a social worker, Vasantha in Ragigudda, a low income area in south Bangalore, 28-year-old Aruldass Vijaya and his brothers became school drop outs after their mason father deserted them when they were young. Incidentally, Arul's mother was then an active political leader in their neighbourhood who started Indira Women's Welfare Association which worked for the social advancement of marginalised women in Ragigudda.Vijaya was compelled into child labour and was exploited by his extended family. Fortunately, an NGO employee spotted him and enrolled him in an informal school run by the well known Bangalore based NGO, Association for the Promotion of…

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…

With Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Farhan Akhtar takes off where he left us with Dil Chahta Hai and Rock On!!. But in this film, sister Zoya Akhtar (and not Farhan) takes the director's chair.  Source: Excel Entertainment Like previous films from Excel Entertainment (Farhan's production house), this is a film about friendship, love, life and letting go. It's a journey of self-discovery, set in that twilight zone where boys finally become men.Kabir (Abhay Deol) is engaged to marry Natasha (Kalki Koechlin). But before that, he is to have his Bachelor Party-a three-week road trip in Spain, with his buddies Imraan…

In a world dominated by crass commercialism, mindless madness and sterility, cinema with a soul is a rarity. In this, director P Sheshadri's Bettada Jeeva distinguishes itself from the cinema of our age.The film based on Dr Shivaram Karanth's novel of the same name has also won the national award for the best environmental film. It tells the story of a freedom fighter on the run from the law, who takes shelter in the home of an aged landlord and his wife, both unaware of his identity. Through this situation, the film explores the relationship that develops between the young…

Director Mahesh Bhatt often says that it takes an equal amount of effort to make a good film or a bad film. This especially true of the superhero film Green Lantern, which had the film makers wading through over 1,300 visual shots and was finally completed at the cost of $300 million.While the superhero film has existed since the 1960s, Richard Donner's Superman (1978) was the first significant film in this genre that had both commercial and critical success. It was also this film that introduced audiences to Christopher Reeve - their most loved Superman avatar for years to follow.…

The two-day festival will have an eclectic mix of artistes both local and national. Residents of north-east Bengaluru will be treated to a classical music extravaganza with Whitefield Music Festival kicking off is first edition this Saturday, 9th July. The two day event, spread over the weekend will see a wide variety of performances from artistes at Jagriti Theatre in Whitefield. The event is being organised by Whitefield Music Circle, a group formed by residents of Whitefield. The concerts will be held between 4 - 8pm. Manoj Pai, one of the members says, "we felt that this side of the…

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…

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…

For art enthusiasts, Art Bengaluru, a contemporary art festival, currently organized by UB City along with Artchutney.com and Sublime is a feast for the eye. Over 19 galleries from all over India are represented here with artists of all genres and style exhibiting their art at the nine day festival. Buddha by Amit Bhar. Pic: Suja Sukumaran. The festival of arts in its second year saw the bringing together of art collectors, remarkable artists from all over India, galleries, art enthusiasts and general public at one common venue. What better place to have it than at the beautiful UB City;…

The South Bangalore food walk and research commenced unexpectedly over a cup of tea with a friend - Mohan Narayan, foodie and Basavanagudiphile (I'm pretty sure he made up that word). We were talking food, one thing led to another and I had roped him in to do a food walk taking in South Bangalore's legendary food joints. Not that he needed much convincing. So we undertook a few reconnaissance visits to joints like Vidyarthi Bhavan, Mahalakshmi Tiffin Rooms, et al, planned our route (MTR had to be dropped purely because of logistics) and the walk was ready. During this…