| INDIA TODAY | CURRENT ISSUE MAY 22, 2006 | | | | YOUR WEEK: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT |  | | | | MUSIC | | Chill-out Zone | | |  | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | (From left) Ankoor Purie, Akshay Kumar, Sattyananda | | DELHI It's a different genre and new to India. Called electronic, ambient music, the sound was kicked off by the India Today Group with a new label, DadA Music, at a spectacular laser show in the capital's historic Purana Qila. The artist behind the music, Nikhel Kumar Mahajan a.k.a. Sattyananda, was in attendance, as was actor Akshay Kumar, who released the album, Internal Activities. The concept was the brainchild of Ankoor Purie, consultant to DadA Music. The tracks in the album were performed live by Sattyananda. They explore the spaces that remain subdued in our minds. He took the listeners through a unique internal journey, which was visual and dreamlike. Having integrated Indian instruments into the sound, Sattyananda's music caters to the mature listener. DadA's vision is to provide a unique journey in each album. "We are gearing up for the DadA movement with light-and-sound shows that will be a special musical experience," says Gurmeet Singh, business director, DadA Music. After all, the movement already has an apt name. Dadaism is a cultural movement that had its origins in Zurich, Switzerland, during the First World War and peaked from 1916 to 1920. Dada was everything but art, it was anti-art. It allowed the viewer or the listener his own interpretation. DadA launched with three compilations: Ambient Spaces, a new selection of unreleased atmospheric tracks; Sonic Vibrations, a compilation showcasing the smooth electronic flavour of European electronic artistes; and Psy-Meditation, a chill-out album. The label plans to release two albums every month. Get ready for meditative magic. At Rs 395 each. -By S. Ranjit |
| | FESTIVAL | | Meet of the Titans | | | | DELHI The Legends of India festival has, over the last eight years, made forays into festivals of art, music and dance. The festival will be held in the capital from May 19-21 this year. On the first day, eminent dancers from different genres will take you on a unique voyage. The performance, titled Jai Bharati, is an interpretation of bhakti poetry by leading poets of India. The dancers include Shovana Narayan (Kathak), Bharati Shivaji (Mohiniattam), Guru Rama Rao and Vanashree (Kuchipudi), Guru Singhajit Singh and Charu Sija Mathur (Manipuri), Madhavi Mudgal (Odissi) and Geeta Chandran (Bharatnatyam). The dance performance will be followed by the soulful strains of vocalist Pandit Jasraj. On May 20, it is the man with the magical strings, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, who will play his latest innovation, the Vishwa Veena. Bhatt's recital will be followed by that of ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali. On May 21, witness the abhinaya of Bharatnatyam dancer Pratibha Prahlad. The festival will conclude with the performance of santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. At Kamani Auditorium. -By S. Sahaya Ranjit |
| | FILM REVIEW | | Why-dun-it? | | | | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | A still from 36 China Town | | 36 CHINA TOWN
Director: Abbas-Mustan
Starring: Shahid Kapur, Kareena Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna. Abbas-Mustan, the brothers famous for wearing identical white safari suits and directing movies together, have perfected the art of plagiarism. They take an English film (usually a thriller), dilute the sex, play up the melodrama, bung in a few songs and create good popcorn cinema-Baazigar, Humraaz and Aitraaz. Unfortunately, in 36 China Town, they have abandoned their DVD player for an original story, which explains why the mystery is so limp. One murder. Seven suspects. A suave, fedora-wearing inspector. All set in a surreal place called China Town, which is-incredibly-supposed to be somewhere in Goa. Still, it could have been fun. But what transpires is jerky plotting interrupted by flashy songs, banal comedy routines by Johnny Lever and Paresh Rawal, and an anticlimactic climax. The killer is the film's biggest let-down. There is also a frightening scene in which a hirsute Rawal lounges by the pool-side in tiny swimwear. This is definitely way more information than we need. -By Anupama Chopra |
| | EXHIBITION | | Vision Thing | | | | MUMBAI "I observe how the human psyche is related to nature and how it manifests itself in different places," says artist Yuriko Lochan. Titled Vision, her paintings are a reflection of the various aspects of nature that inspire her. The artist uses Japanese calligraphic brushwork to paint poetic landscapes and images of waters and skies in meditative forms. Lochan's 15 paintings are an amalgamation of her Japanese roots and the Indian landscape she had experienced and analysed over the years. She uses traditional Japanese material and techniques to represent a typically Indian landscape with coconuts, palms and creepers. Her medium of expression is watercolour on Shikishi rice paper board, a popular painting material used in Japan. The main subjects are nature-celestial bodies as well as natural landscapes. The sun, stars and the moon, particularly the various phases of the moon, are widely seen in her works. At the Jamaat Art Gallery, the exhibition will continue till June 7. -By Aditi Pai |
| | RECOMMENDATIONS | | The Original | | DELHI Dhrupad is the most ancient style of Hindustani classical music to have survived in its original form. The nature of Dhrupad music is spiritual, seeking not to entertain, but to induce a feeling of peace and contemplation in the listener. The word Dhrupad is derived from Dhruva, or the steadfast evening star, and "pada" meaning poetry. It is a form of devotional music that traces its roots to the ancient text of the Sam Veda. To know more about this form of music, all you have to do is attend the five-day Dhrupad workshop by Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar. At The Attic, Connaught Place. On May 22, 25, 27, 29 and 31. DELHI Israeli photographer Ira Gur-Aryeh's exhibition of Indian images is a visual diary of his two-and-a-half-year journey through 18 Indian states from the hills of Spiti to the deserts of Rajasthan, from humorous sadhus in teashops to kangaroo-shaped dustbins amidst a sea of Buddhist monks. On till May 14, at Cafe Turtle. |
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