ART EXHIBITION

Recalling Hore

PICTURE SPEAK

A work by Somnath Hore; (above) the late artist at work

The last show that Kolkata saw of Hore’s was in the late 1990s, hosted by CIMA Gallery. This is his only solo showing since. The show has 12 sculptures on display, with 24 drawings and about three dozen graphics. The exhibition was inaugurated on April 13 by West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi. The exhibits span about four decades of the artist’s works, from sculptures of the late 1960s to his last prints made in 2000 and 2001, after which his lung ailment made it impossible for him to work any more.

Hore, it is well-known, had a deep commitment to the human condition all his life and that concern shaped his artistic vision. A recluse in his later life, Hore was active in the Communist movement during his early years and he couldn’t complete his degree because of his political involvement. He came back later to college. The artist was much loved by his students and contemporaries for his simplicity. A humble man leading a quiet life in Santiniketan, the only thing Hore was dedicated to was his art. Not to be missed, the solo show is on till May 5.

-By Swagata Sen

DANCE Of Body and Movement

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ARTICULATE DANCER: Geeta Chandran

To celebrate World Dance Day on April 28, Natya Vriksha is organising a celebration including a lecture by the legendary dancer-choreographer and activist Mrinalini Sarabhai titled Bhootam-Bhavyam-Bhavishyam. Sarabhai will assess Indian classical dance through the prisms of yesterday, today and tomorrow. The same evening, dancer Geeta Chandran will present a Bharatanatyam performance. At the India International Centre, at 10.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m.

-By S. Sahaya Ranjit

ART Man and Beast

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Work by Jagannath Panda

-By Swati Mathur

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A still from the movie

LIFE MEIN KABHI KABHIE
Director: Vikram Bhatt
Starring: Aftab Shivdasani, Nauheed Cyrusi, Sameer Dattani

Vikram Bhatt is not the most original director in Bollywood but he is certainly a competent one. In this coming of age morality tale, he shows flashes of talent which he has never allowed himself to explore, racing against time like a taxi on hire and directing multiple movies a year.

What could have been a compelling drama about five friends and their different interpretations of happiness, suffers both because of poor production values (much of the action takes place inside a large hotel banquet hall which doubles as a swish bedroom and living room) and inordinate length. But there is something affecting in the individual stories taken straight from headlines—of a desperate starlet, an ambitious businessman, a power-hungry politician and a wannabe rich wife.

While the idea that Shivdasani's cottage industry writer ends up as a man of the millennium is laughable, young Dattani shows there is hope yet for the craft of acting in young Bollywood. Now if only Bhatt, who surprisingly still does not have a signature style, could learn to say no, the young talent he often likes to work with would be better served.

-By Kaveree Bamzai

PICTURE SPEAK

A painting by Vichitra

DELHI Young artist Shalina Vichitra shows her mixed-media works on canvas at the gallery Art Motif. Vichitra’s work is inspired by her extensive and frequent treks to Ladakh as well as by the changing urban landscape represented by mappings and cartography.

The exhibition opens on April 21 and runs till May 12.

DELHI Dheeraj Paul is a successful young Delhi photographer with many kinds of assignments to his credit. Trained by his eminent father S. Paul, Dheeraj is skilled in both studio and outdoor photography and works in both black and white and in colour. This first solo showing has been curated by gallerist Prema Kurien and has some three dozen pictures, ranging from the situational to the pictorial in subject matter.

PICTURE SPEAK

Portal: A picture by Paul

Most memorable among his black and white images are the ones titled Portal, Ascent and Literary Sweep. Among his colour pictures, one of the blue houses of Jodhpur and the untitled frame depicting two pairs of young girls—one urban chic, the other a tribal beauty—stay in the mind’s eye.

The show is on view at Gallerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Francaise till April 21.

-By S. Kalidas

MUSIC REVIEW Tradition and Class

THE GOLDEN COLLECTION OF ABIDA PARVEEN Music Today CD Rs 99 “I live to sing for God,” says Abida Parveen who is more like an honorary citizen of India. Parveen’s passionate, robust voice and her powerful renditions of devotional music is an experience in itself. She has a quality in her renderings that makes a direct appeal to the hearts of her listeners. This album, in the MP3 format, is a collection of her 75 most popular tracks. It has both ghazals and sufiana qalam and includes Ali maula, Lattje di chadar, Tere gham ko, Aaj rang hai and the classic Duma dum mast qalandar among others. It is worth your money.   STORY OF THUMRI Ninaad CD Rs 250 Thumri, an ancient form of Hindustani classical music, involves the singing of the same word or phrase in many ways, each one different from the other. Of late, this form of music has been disappearing. Many Thumri singers have passed away leaving a gaping hole in the art. That is why this album by Satyasheel Deshpande is a welcome effort in conserving this tradition. The album has seven Thumris, each depicting various aspects of the genre. From the structured and medium-paced bandish ki thu-mri Aehi Sanvare to the lang-uid Banarasi style (Jal Jamuna) to the acrobatic tappa-inspired Kafi, each is soaked in romanticism. While Dagar mori chhado is written by Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paulskar, Lag gayi chot, Ras ke bhare tore nain are Deshpande’s rediscoveries of tradition, nostalgic of an era gone by. -By S. Sahaya Ranjit

Index