Vasant Nagar

After successfully staging the play at Ranga Shankara, the young Bangalore theatre group, Dramanon, is staging the play at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. Troupe : Dramanon, BangalorePlaywright : Melissa James GibsonDirector : Sharanya RamprakashVenue : Alliance de FrancaiseDate & Time : October 24th (4.30 PM & 7:30 PM)Telebooking No : 9880036611/ 9845017975 Online Booking : www.indianstage.inPlay Synopsis:sic (adv.): thus, so.[sic] takes place primarily in the doorways and shared hallway of three neighbouring apartments. Meet Theo, the desperate & edgy amusement park ride theme music composer, the struggling and ever-broke writer Babette, and Frank, the queer, happy-go-lucky aspiring auctioneer. See them…

cult presentsARTBYYASMINA REZAArt, a French play written by Yasmina Reza, adapted in English, by Christopher Hampton, is a play, that revolves around three diverse and minimalist products of human nature. Three characters, aesthetes in their own right, questioning their individual prejudices against each other. Serge, a modernist, a puritan, but an afterthought of delusion. Marc, characterized by the epitome of self-acclaim and classicist snobbery and Ivan, an oblivious leaf, which flows in whichever direction the wind blows. The three friends collide subtly into each others' perspective and push each other into an overwhelmed sense of egoistic urge towards moral self…

"The RTI Act is best understood by using it, not just knowing it". – Anand S, ACF BangaloreIt was around 2.15 PM on Jul-25, the last Saturday of the month at Cubbon Park and RTI Clinic’s second session., I was just in time to hear Manohar Ranganathan of the South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM) welcome the gathering. Nearly 25 people including students, public, private and self-employed citizens, community workers and the two to three co-organisers were present. Sultan, a state government officer joined the interaction later as an observer. Anand of the Anti-Corruption Forum (ACF)…

Ever visited a BBMP school? Or met children studying in one?When I first heard of it, I immediately visualized a dilapidated building with a loud bell and boisterous children. But this one was different. Thanks to its proactive and progressive Headmaster of four years, Mr. Balappa and his committed staff, the BBMP Girls High school in Bharathi Nagar has 251 enthusiastic students in classes VIII - X presently. Located at the intersection of Thimmaiah Road and St. John's Road (near Coles Park), most of its students are Urdu speakers who commute long distances. Almost all hail from very low income…

  Women with courage, strength and patience. Supporting their children and each other. Speaking out against violence at home and outside. Despite the pain of abuse and the threat of ostracization and backlash. In India, Cameroon, China, Kyrgyzstan and elsewhere. Portrayed through the lens of sensitive and concerned artists. In the women's own voices and others'. This was Daughters of Fire, a festival of films and discussions on violence against women and women's resistance to it. Last weekend, Vimochana and the Asian Women and Human Rights Council in collaboration with the Bangalore Film Society and Alliance Francaise de Bangalore organized…

An interesting photographic exhibition is on from 3rd October to 15th November at Café Fresco’s on Cunningham Road. Titled ‘Stone Theater’, the exhibition displays photographs of a different kind by Magali Couffon de Trevros. These beautiful images not retouched or reframed, but just printed on aluminum sheets. It is hard to believe that these are photographs of stones, sand and water bodies around them and the aluminum sheets add to the earthy effect of the theme.Magali is French by origin, and has been in Bangalore for about 6 years and in India for 15 years. Trained as a graphic designer,…

"There is no conflict in the city," was the opening statement by M Narasimha, one of the panelists in a discussion on ‘Conflict and the Future of Bangalore’ organised by Meta-Culture Dialogics (MCD is an organisation working on conflict resolution through dialogue) and hosted by Citizen Matters on 19th October, at Alliance Franchise de Bangalore, in Vasant Nagar. (16th October was World Conflict Resolution day and MCD has organised a week-long film festival on the topic during Oct 13-19. Preceding the discussion was the Anand Patwardhan film ‘Bombay, our city’ and following it was ‘Fishers of men’ by Ranjan Kamath.)Fortunately…

PERCEPTIONS and PERSPECTIVESDispute and Resolution In CinemaA week long festival of films and discussionsOctober 13 – 19 To celebrate Conflict Resolution Day, October 16th, Meta-Culture Dialogics, Center for Dispute Transformation and Dialogue, in collaboration with Bangalore Film Society, and Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, and with the generous support of Arghyam, Citizen Matters and Visthar, are presenting a week long Festival of Films on Conflict and Resolution. After a very successful launch in 2007, with over a thousand viewers, Meta-Culture Dialogics is renewing its effort to reach out to the Bangalorean public, offering alternative ways of looking at disputes and conflicts…

PANEL DISCUSSIONCONFLICT AND THE FUTURE FOR BANGALOREANSFacilitated by Hosted by 4:00 pm, Sunday, 19 October 2008Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. No 108, Thimmaiah Road, Vasanth Nagar, Bangalore All are welcome!The panel discussion is part of a weeklong festival of films and discussions, facilitated by Meta-Culture, a conflict resolution centre. The panelistsM Narasimha is the founder-secretary of the Udayabhanu Kala Sangha, a Bangalore-based volunteer-driven cultural and social organisation, founded in 1965. He was formerly Assistant General Manager at Hindustan Machine Tools. He has been a social worker for four decades in the area of Kannada literature, culture and education.Dr Ambar Abdul Qaiyum…

It's telling of the potency of a play, when it continues to be staged decades after it was originally written. In Silence! The Court is in Session Vijay Tendulkar takes the covers off a conformist society, to show us just what it is capable of when given the power to lord over those who live by their own rules. With a drama woven into a drama, the play revolves around theatre group about to perform a play in a village. As the plot thickens, the comforting mist of 'pretend' starts to dissolve revealing the frustrated, bitter and jaded lives of…