Visual Art and Culture

    Jahangir with Falcon When we look at paintings, we slowly realise how these paintings communicate to us. Each line, each form, each colour, the spatial arrangement speaks volumes. By studying these paintings, we can realise what kind of culture prevailed during that period. The very word ‘culture’ itself denotes lot of things like material culture, the way of living, the behavioural aspect, tastes,  ideas, concepts and values. Keeping all these things in mind, one can have a look at these rich paintings for deeper understanding. When I look at these mogul miniature paintings in the backdrop of  fast growing urbanisation in recent years, which is a matter of concern for all of us,   these  paintings beautifully unfold before us the richness of vegetation, which the artists have captured in fine lines and colours. Now cities are growing both horizontally and vertically because of the greediness of real estate people and that too at the cost o...

When we see the black and white photographs, they certainly give us a kick, and take us to back to some particular period and unfold some beautiful memories, which have been treasured for the present. Through these photographs we come to know the material culture of the particular period and this material culture speaks about the economical and social conditions, fashions, gender equations and so on. These are documentation which communicate about family history. When I visited our village, in the big old mud house, I found a row of black and white photographs hung on the wall in each room. The photographs were in odd sizes, some big and some very small, framed in coffee colour frames. The photographs have turned yellow with the passage of time but they seemed very interesting. Some of the senior family members were photographed in their youth with their wives and husbands. Time waits for no one. When I shifted my focus from photograph to the elderly faces there was pain becaus...

    Films made with new technology, with minimum budget, with contemporary themes.......                                                               A few days back, I viewed a short film on face book uploaded by high school students, who are hardly in the 7th grade. This short film of three minutes duration is done with their mobile phones. Though the film is crude and abruptly finished, I appreciate their sincere efforts in finding the subject appropriate for their age, writing the script for it, selecting the locations- the whole approach seems innocent and funny but at the same time honest and beautiful. Due to television, computer and mobiles, today children have been gaining a lot of knowledge of various subjects. Internet has become a boon to everyone as it covers and enlightens on all subjects. Compare...

Art Diary in Your Travel Bag Now the travelling scenario has changed all around the world. People are very enthusiastic to travel, ready to spend, eager to see and explore the diverse cultures of distant lands. So, naturally, tourism has developed and offering attractive facilities like anything to tourists these days. Tourism industry all over the world has come out with various packages; these packages are quite affordable and enjoyable. As these packages are designed and planned to cater to all sorts of travelers taking into account of their age, gender, and food habits, these seem reasonable and very comfortable to travel with. The travel packages, to some extent, look a little bit restrictive due time and place restriction as these are planned by the travel agencies. Whether one likes it or not, one has to fit oneself in these slots if travel packages are preferred. But if one likes to travel on own, it becomes pretty difficult as one has to shoulder all the resp...

Contemporary Movies With A Difference : Pink, Chalk n' Duster,  Agasi Parlour and Angry Indian Goddesses                                                                                    I have been seeing movies continuously for the last two to three months. This includes Hindi, English and regional movies as well.  Certainly, there is a remarkable change in movie making, and certainly it has  changed for the better over the years. Socio-political themes interest the producers and directors a lot nowadays. Lot of new ideologies and concepts have crept into new movies. The present day movie director...

                                                              NEW YEAR 2017: resolutions and expectations for the coming year A few moments later we are all stepping into New Year 2017 with lots of hope and aspirations. No doubt, one has to have a positive attitude and aspire for beautiful things to happen in one's life, even though life is an amalgamation of pleasure and pain as everyone knows. Each year passed and forgotten, still adds experience, maturity and wisdom to one's life. Looking back analytically at the years lived; one realizes the positive and negative elements that have dominated one's existence. Each second, each minute, each hour counts for every individual who is conscious of one's own existence. What is an existence? Jean- Paul-Sartre tried to philosophize and cited existence precedes essence and lived h...

Selfie Menace : e very technology has advantages and disadvantages                                                                                                                   Indian society has changed drastically in the 21st century due  to globalization and technology outbreak, and the change is very fast and significant. No doubt, 21st century is the digital era of computers, laptops, mobiles, and information and connectivity. With new features and multiple apps, a mobile phone is everyone's dream these days. Everyday a new technology is invented, as a result, in heaps new gadgets enter into the markets every second. Confidentially speaking, every new gadget is package of adv...

  Exploring Goa In Monsoon                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          ...

                                                                                            The word culture is derived from cultrua which means cultivation. Ideas, values and knowledge, behavior, attitude which work as the basis of culture, keep changing with time and evolve differently with different philosophies. Culture is a mode generating meaning and ideas. Culture becomes an important and integral part for the growth of a personality of a person and his harmonious existence in the society. Culture gives a sense of belonging, identity and purpose to people. Meanings are governed by power relations. It is always elite culture which decides the meanings and ideas and dominates all the sub classes. Culture has a significant role in the formati...