ARTS and CULTURE

Dalai Lama, the Noble peace prize laureate is scheduled to visit St. Joseph college of Arts and Science, Bangalore this coming Sunday. Source: Wikimedia Commons. (Jamling_with_HH_Dalai_Lama.jpg) "H.H. the Dalai Lama has been invited to attend S Nijalingappa memorial function at Chitradurga, 500 km from Bangalore on coming Saturday", said Tashi Phuntsok, the chief representative of Central Tibetan Administration in South India (CTA). Nijalingappa was the first Karnataka chief minister, and the one who initially welcomed the Tibetan refugees into Karnataka state. The address at the college will be followed by a public talk on “Finding Happiness in Troubled Times,” organized…

No One Killed Jessica It was a murder and a trial that transfixed India. Now the story returns to celluloid in director Raj Kumar Gupta's account of the murder of model Jessica Lall and the subsequent trial of Manu Sharma. It remains an important film of our times, yet it is not always landmark cinema. The film narrates in dramatised documentary style the events surrounding Jessica's murder and the subsequent investigation and trial. Certain movies will also be remembered for the manner in which they caricature a city. No one killed Jessica is a film that also puts Delhi on…

After almost three decades of nurturing their dream, theatre personalities Arundhati and Jagdish Raja have finally seen it turn into a reality. Their dream was simple - a centre for the performing arts. Jagriti, which means awakening, aims to be a hub for the performing arts when in people have the opportunity be participate rather than just be an audience. Jagriti is located in Whitefield. The theatre intends to be a community centre where you can become involved, not just as audience, but be it as a participant in special workshops and lectures; an usher for shows or even as…

Plays in regional languages other than Kannada - Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali et al. - have reduced considerably in Bengaluru over the past 15 years. This runs contrary to Bangalore's much heralded cosmopolitan nature. Citizen Matters decided to investigate, and found out that the question only led to more questions that encompass seemingly disconnected spheres. Dr K Y Narayanaswamy, 45, Sahitya Akademi awardee for his play Kannada Pampabharatha, says we must re-examine the meaning of cosmopolitan as it appears today. While it actually means a mix of multi-ethnic cultures, what it translates to, is the knowledge of English in…

Rewind 2010 While the first five films are the big budget films that either rocked box office or created a buzz amongst cinema lovers across India, the next 10 films either stretched the boundaries of their genre or are significant from a historical perspective. Major Box office hits Dabangg (Hindi)Inception (English)The Social Network (English)Endhiraan (Tamil)My Name is Khan (Hindi) Interesting films of the year Peepli Live (Hindi) - Kanasemba Kudureyaneri (Kannada)  Autograph (Bengali) Pranchiyettan and the Saint (Malayalam) The Japanese Wife (Hindi) Aptharakshaka (Kannada) Do Dooni Chaar (Hindi)Phas Gaya Re Obama (Hindi) Pancharangi (Kannada) Legend of the Guardians: The Owls…

Anjali Sapra's "Timeless travel" exhibit done in Egg Tempera style is on display at Mahua Gallery, Sadashivanagar. Egg tempera paintings by Ajnali Sapra Anjali Sapra is an artist who is greatly influenced by Mughal architecture and the rich traditional heritage of India. She has been trained at Triveni Kala Sangam and has specialised in the art technique of vegetable dyes and other natural pigments .She has hosted a good number of shows from 2003 and some of her works are in private collections in London, Germany, USA etc. Most of her works in the "The Ephemeral Playground", "The Timeless travel"…

Primrose Marthoma church, Bengaluru has opted for eco-friendly coconut leaves, old newspapers, dry vegetables and grasses for the Christmas decorations at the church. When they first used recycled materials in 2008, church members were apprehensive since decorations were made out of plastic bottles and old tyres. Daniel Thomas who runs an ad agency and is a church member, says "the end product was so beautiful that everybody was delighted."  Daniel is one of the people behind the eco-friendly initiative. In 2009 they used videotapes and plastic bags. Daniel says people call to find out what is special on Christmas every…

Kathakali is an art form from Kerala that tells a story with  two or more  performers. It is a form of sanskrit dance theatre that was traditionally practiced and professed by male actors.[1] Prabol Gupta in stree vesham. Pic: Prabol Gupta. For many centuries men have been responsible for upholding and passing on the classical art forms from one generation to another especially during times when women were forbidden from entering the world of performing arts. Hence it is not surprising that men have taken on women's toles in these traditional art forms. Guru Lalitha Ubhaykar, renowned Hindustani artiste and Guru Usha…

Many years ago, I made my first Christmas pudding from a recipe in a foreign magazine. The result was everything the blurb promised – dark, moist, rich and very more-ish. I was delighted. Having grown up on Agatha Christie, I had finally made the steamed concoction that Christie occasionally referred to in her books. The pudding captivated me so much that the neuries, achappams and laddoos that I’d also grown up on, paled in comparison. Glace cherries, raisins, almonds and candied fruit being prepared for fruit cake. The rind and juice of orange and lime are also added. Pic: Theresa…

Twenty-eight-year-old Bangalorean Pawan Kumar's inspiring journey began, when he quit his engineering degree from PESIT college, around 2000 to follow his passion for theatre and cinema. By 2003, he had set up his own theatre company ACTor Productions. In 2009, director Yograj Bhat released Manasaare to commercial success and critical acclaim within the Kannada film fraternity. But even as the film-makers, including Yograj and screenplay writer Pawan Kumar, travelled through urban and rural Karnataka observing the response to their film, they noticed a curious dichotomy. This in fact formed the basis of their next film. Pawan's transformation from actor to…