ARTS and CULTURE

The first time I came across Girish Karnad was in Shankar Nag’s 'Malgudi Days', when I was a kid. Karnad played the father of Swami, and for me it was a pleasure to know he had reached people across the nation through the series. I was later introduced to his writings when I got the opportunity to act in Tughlak, a play written by him. It took me a few shows to understand the brilliance of the dialogues and the play overall. I soon became a fan. Karnad had written Tughlak around 50 years ago, but we would pick lines…

Holidays and broke teenagers don’t quite fit together, more so during summer. With the scorching heat and sweat dripping down our faces, getting annoyed was pretty easy. Bengaluru certainly made living easier in some ways, but not if you weren’t ready to pay for it. Every time I wanted to catch a movie, I’d pay Rs 150 or 200 at a single-screen theatre because I couldn’t pay up for a multiplex. So was my story with Rex theatre in Brigade Road. 'Logan' had just come out, starring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine for the last time. Despite not having followed or…

Triplicane, the oldest Islamic settlement in Chennai, bustles with activity now. The spirit of Ramzan is witnessed in every lane of the locality, as shops selling burkhas, Qurans and other necessities have mushroomed. The location of the Big Mosque, the oldest mosque tracing its origin to 1794, adds glory to Triplicane. Big Mosque is famous for its Mughal architecture and the less known, fascinating story of its chronogram. Chronograms are inscriptions where specific letters can be interpreted as numerals to signify a date or a period. “The numerical value assigned to each letter in the text will reflect the year…

"Cutting down trees to build the Metro line just cannot happen without the permission of the Tree Officer," affirms M K Cholarajappa, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) and Tree Officer, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Cholarajappa's response is a firm and surprising counter to a press note released by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) on Friday. The note had announced that the construction of the Vellara Junction station in Richmond Town would not be stopped. This station is along Metro's Red Line, from Gottigere to Nagawara. Activists had opposed Metro construction here, claiming that it would involve cutting of…

“Ardambarda astrology kaltu, Aptamitra Avinash range-ige build up kodtarappa!” (“Barely knows any astrology, but portrays himself as Avinash from Aptamitra movie”) says Sudarshan in one of his gigs, warning the audience to stay away from the astrologer uncle at family events. Bengaluru has been a stand-up comedy hub for about a decade now, with artists from various backgrounds performing in English and Hindi. This is not surprising as the city is home to people from across India. But modern comedy in Kannada was not popular here till a few years back. Traditionally, in local art-forms like Yakshagana, 'Vidushakas' or comedians…

The Fort High School in Chamarajpet, built in 1907, has lain dilapidated for years. Its alumni include freedom fighter H S Doresamy, cricketer G R Vishwanath, and even the former King of Mysore Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. Sometime back, authorities even "repaired" the school in places with vitrified tiles, completely ignoring its importance as a heritage structure. Last year, the non-profit INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) took up a project to restore the building to its original state. It took about eight years for INTACH to document the building, get permission from DPI (Department of Public Instruction) to…

I have been fortunate to be associated with two great noble minds in my life. K S Padmanabhan and S Muthiah. I joined Mr Padmanabhan’s EastWest Books in my early 20s. EastWest started operations in Madras at that time dealing with distribution of general and technical books, which later on took several ‘avatars’ and is now Westland Publications, a part of Amazon. During my tenure with the company, I came in contact with Mr Muthiah whose book Madras Discovered was published by EastWest, first as a small booklet and then on to a much larger edition with historical facts and…

Tambaram, a bustling suburban pocket has witnessed steady growth in its economy and population over the last three decades. With the increase in population, the pressure on the groundwater table has been tremendous. During the 2015 flash floods, a majority of water bodies in the suburb including Mudichur lake flooded their banks, creating a crisis that speaks about the mismanagement of the lakes and ponds. Now, TAKE Solutions that delivers domain intensive services in Life Sciences and Supply Chain Management has taken up restoration work in three ponds in the suburb as part of their CSR Project. TAKE solutions collaborated…

On World Water Day, conservation is the buzzword. The Internet is flooded with tips on how to conserve water and the need to focus on water as a scarce resource. Many resident welfare associations in Chennai are organising awareness sessions to educate people about water economics. But, ironically perhaps, World Water Day this year has come just a day after Holi, exposing the huge gaps in awareness and responsibility among many sections of the people, still. Just a day ago, the city celebrated Holi in a grand manner, but wasted gallons of water in the process, creating artificial rain. “The…

The iconic Chennai Photo Biennale is drawing to a close this weekend. The event that showcases the work of 50 artists from 13 countries across the world has seen yet another successful run and will end on March 24, 2019.  A myriad activities that were part of the schedule included film screenings, workshops, interaction with artists and skill training. This year's exhibition saw the opening up of the exquisite Senate House to the public through the efforts of the organisers. With the Biennale winding up, here is what you can catch in the next few days! Biennale roundup Guided tours…