ARTS and CULTURE

It’s as if it was just last weekend I realised that the strange-shaped building coming up near my home was ready and would be a new hub for theatre in south Bangalore. The years that followed established this role firmly, and it was with pride that I took my place in the queue for the first of the plays that Ranga Shankara was staging to celebrate its fifth anniversary. It’s time to take stock, perhaps, of what Ranga Shankara has achieved and what it yet needs to do. Srinivasan and Jagadish of Ranga Shankara ensure that all aspects of plays…

The amiable and witty K K S Murthy, the face and voice of one of Bengaluru’s oldest and iconic landmarks took around 20 of us down an enchanting memory lane on October 10th, a pleasant Saturday evening.It was part of Jamming through October festival organised by Maraa , a community media collective based in Bangalore.Murthy's bibliophilic father K B K Rao practised as a lawyer in Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh). "Father would visit Bangalore on merely receiving a post card from auctioneers in Bangalore about families leaving the city selling used books. I have seen people from Kerala carrying and selling…

Hampi – this word alone is enough to bring to mind pictures of grandeur, vastness, architecture, history and  destruction. The magnificant scenes of Hampi were captured  in more than 30 paintings by artist Ganesh P Doddamani. The paintings were on display and sale at Chitrakala Parishat last week. Artist Doddamani with his paintings of Hampi. Pic: Deepa Vaishnavi. Ganesh Doddamani, a native of Ramdurg Village in Belgaum, hails from a family of artists. He first began painting when he was around 12 years of age and further honed his skill in Shantiniketan, West Bengal. The peace and  tranquility there led…

That Bangalore is fast gaining recognition (long overdue, some may argue) as a hub for art related activities was further reinforced when ‘Art Etc’, a magazine of contemporary art and culture, published by Emami Chisel Art, Kolkata, was released at Chitrakala Parishat on  November 4th 2009.Dr Annapurna Garimella, art historian specialising in India, released the magazine. While addressing the gathering, she spoke about the importance of art journalism. She also spoke about the history of art journalism in India and mentioned about the trends in it during the colonial period and post independence (which saw the rewriting of Indian history…

Following a long wait, Bengaluru inaugurated its very own National Gallery of Modern Art earlier this year. Functioning under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, National Gallery has its head quarters in New Delhi, and another centre in Mumbai. Originally established in 1954, NGMA developed as a premiere institute for the housing and display of modern and contemporary art objects, of which they currently have more than 17,000. Over 500 items from this collection – paintings, sculptures, prints - were selected to be part of the inaugural exhibition at the Bengaluru centre with the title of ‘Signposts of the…

The city of Bangalore is constantly changing. With the numerous flyovers, the metro which promises to be completed in a few years, the shopping malls coming up every day and the ever changing urban population of Bangalore, the city seems to be transforming every minute. However, nestled in between the green locales of the city, Bangalore’s foreign cultural centres seem to have endured the test of time. Call it a quiet escape to an art exhibition or a keen desire to learn new languages; Bangaloreans still take that trip to these centres; even if it means travelling from one part…

The land we live in is Karnataka which is beautiful all around. It gives us immense pride to speak in Kannada, It gives us immense energy... Kannada reverberates wherever you go - from the lyrics of 'Kannada', a song from the Taan Saints.On the occasion of Rajyotsava day today, Bangalore based music group Taan Saints have released a music video. Citizen Matters is happy to share the video here and joins Taan Saints in greeting you all on this special day. Sung By : Swastika Borkataki Bugley, Adarsh Bungley, Pavan Ananth, Prathap SounderLyrics : Badekilla PradeepMusic Composed By : Taan…

When was the last time you saw at least 70 different characters (could be more if one actually counted!), not to mention other things like vehicles, tables, houses and more  on one sheet of paper, with each character minutely detailed with suitable clothes, accessories, postures & expressions?  Not to mention having you in splits at the same time! If you are a resident of Bangalore and your answer is ‘in the past couple of weeks’, I am sure that you are one of those lucky to have visited the exhibition of Mario de Miranda’s works that is currently on at…

Most of the times, injuries while bursting crackers occur because of no supervision, misuse of crackers, device failure and so on. Injuries may also result from being too close to fireworks when they explode. For example, when you lean over to look more closely if a firework has been lit or if a bottle rocket hits a nearby person. The types of fireworks that generally cause injuries are flower pots or fountains, sparklers, bombs, rockets and sky shots. Precautions and safety measuresBuy fireworks from licensed and reputed manufacturers only. Ask the shopkeeper for his license given by the city police.…

The smell of sulphur wafting through the air, the night-sky filled with beautiful firework displays, constant sounds of bombs being blown – crackers are an integral part of the hindu festival Diwali, or Deepavali as it is termed in  some parts of south India. The Late A Chelladurai, General Director of the Sivakasi-headquartered Standard Fireworks Ltd., once wrote, “At no time was there or is there a product that has contributed more to relaxation, merriment and enjoyment - both for young and old alike. Let us enjoy fireworks!”  But unlike a decade ago, when this was a sight only during…