ARTS and CULTURE

A detachable platform with giant wheels. A circular kiosk constructed with collapsible column. A school on wheels using recyclable materials. A mobile garden unit that also sells terrace garden plants, built using bill board structuresThese and some more are the result of a collaborative effort of architects from all over the globe who responded to an open invitation sent by Prayas Abhinav, a talented artist based in Bangalore.Abinav, 27, post graduate from CEMA (Center for Experimental Media Arts) and Srishti, lives and works in Bangalore. A man of many interests from writing to art and film making, he has won…

“For men may come and men may goBut I go on for ever”.In the spacious library in the basement of St Joseph’s College on Langford road, I read these lines of Lord Tennyson’s poem that aptly captured the spirit of St. Joseph’s educational institutions, which have been in existence for more than a century. However, in May this year a piece of history was lost for ever; the 84 year-old magnificent gothic building that housed St Joseph’s Arts and Science College on Residency Road was brought down.A few years back, while working out of one of the glass and chrome…

Theatre has always been a media that awed me. The whole idea of performing live is fascinating and challenging. I have been attending plays for a long time, but being part of a theatre crew was a totally different experience. I got an opportunity to be a part of the production team for Evam’s “An Idiot for dinner” that was recently staged at Rangashankara on the 12th, 13th and the 14th of June. A stage adaptation of the Hindi movie, Bheja Fry, which is based on the French play Le dîner de cons. Sanjay and his friends have a tradition…

Is it a memoir or another book depicting the glory of old Mysore? Is it about the politics and administration of the kingdom of Mysore? It is hard to categorise MA Sreenivasan’s ‘The Last Mysore Pradhan’. I presumed it would be the author’s autobiography when I had started reading it. But the book had much more to offer.Sreenivasan started his career as a young Mysore Civil Service (M.C.S) officer in 1918. He served as with both Mysore Kingdom and then the Government of British India. He was made a minister (pradhan) in 1943. In 1947, he was invited by the…

Agenda for Bengaluru Infrastructure and Development Task force (ABIDe) is a Karnataka Government initiative  to build a better Bengaluru. The agency’s main aim is to provide solutions to the challenges faced by the city. Given the number of agencies required to be involved in any issue of city level urban and social development, the initiative appears to be a step in the right direction. It makes sense to create a nodal agency to co-ordinate between the various principal stakeholders.Among other recommendations towards the betterment of the city the agency has just come up with a blue print for Bengaluru’s Heritage.…

There are many instances when you find yourself staring at something and wondering, ‘Have I seen this somewhere?' MS Gopal's photo exhibition, which opened on 11th May and will go on for a month at F&B restaurant, off St. Marks Road, makes you ask that question. M S Gopal's picture of a security guard, Jeevan originally from Assam. Gopal, a young professional has found his metier in shooting Bangalore with his pocket sized Canon A350. Many may feel that this is too small a tool for taking photographs, but Gopal looks at it as an opportunity. He can carry it…

The well known artist G Subramaniam's works were on display at Silk Interiors in Bella Vista on Lavelle Road earlier this month. This store for interior décor artifacts houses a gallery named "iArt". Artwork by G SubramaniamG Subramaniam has a fascinating and unique way of expressing his creativity. He creates collages on canvases. Yes, the same collage techniques from your college and school competitions! Subra as he is popularly known in the art field, has combined this with his imagination and created a splendid new image. Most of his works revolves around Indian deities; Krishna, Brahma and Ganesha. Subra says,…

“I hope I win an Oscar for India as Indians are crazy about Oscars,” AR Rahman quipped before he even won the Oscar. It is true the Oscars are a big deal in India, as is evident from the post Oscar success of the film. The lives of slum dwellers are suddenly coming to the forefront; inspiring film-makers, writers and artists. One such group of 14 artists came together at Crimson Art Gallery in Hatworks Boulevard on Cunningham Road, with an exhibition, ‘Big Dreams’, which had a collection of paintings inspired by Slumdog Millionaire. The show was on till 30th…

A cluster of banyans that are home to seven thousand bats A 150 foot tall araucaria tree from New Caledonia! Gnarled and irregular trunks of ancient tamarind trees that are around 800 years old in a Devarakadu (god’s grove) near Bangalore! A keelback snake just about to swallow its breakfast in Lalbagh. These are extracts from Heritage Trees and Green Heritage Sites by Vijay Thiruvady, published by Bangalore Environment Trust on behalf of their project sponsors. To say that Thiruvady is a walking encyclopaedia on trees and wooded areas in and around Bangalore would not be far from the truth.…

On 18th April 2009, World Heritage Day, Bangalore City projects – a Bengaluru based group that aims to raise awareness about arts and culture in the city, organised some events, one of which was a heritage hunt. Conducted in three places, this hunt was aimed at throwing light on places of heritage in and around one’s neighbourhood. I took part in the Gavipuram vernacular heritage hunt. The teams gathered at Basavangudi Bull Temple around 3 PM. Very soon, the quiet temple premises were filled with fervour and talk as the teams registered at Rs 50 per person. We were all…