Visual Art and Culture

  Monsoon Tea and Reflection       June begins with enchanting monsoon rains, bringing a drastic transition in the surroundings and human life. The wet surroundings, the smell of earth, the croaking of frogs, the smell of pakodas — all fused together ooze a distinct charm for those who crave to have a tryst with rains.    Late one rainy evening, we decided to visit Mugad lake  which is close by.   Mugad lake  holds great historical and literary significance as its beauty and serenity inspired the renowned   Kannada poet and  Jnanpita Awardee   Da.Ra.Bendre.    During the British colonial rule, the poet was kept under house arrest for sometime in Mugad village for his patriotic poem Nara Bali, which  r esonated nationalist spirit, but which the colonial govt considered it seditious. But the tranquil surroundings of Mugad continued to inspire his literary work.         ...

  The monsoon arrived much earlier than expected this year. It was to come two days later, and we were awaiting its arrival with all the eagerness. The previous day was very sunny,bright and warm. The Newspaper told that the monsoon had reached Kerala state in time and would   proceed towards Karnataka state within couple days. Every specie was eagerly waiting for the monsoon as the summer days and nights had become intolerable with increased suffocating heat. The very next morning, on getting up, I found the overcast sky indicating the nearing of the monsoon. The cloudy sky and the windy weather persisted all through day but without any drizzling. The following day, in the morning, it started raining silently. Chill wind brushed our cheeks and arms fondly and teasingly, reminding us of our warm clothes neatly packed in the cupboard. The atmosphere was very pleasant and inspiring. I enjoyed my first monsoon tea in the balcony watching the rain, in the background some old ...

 

Presented by: Flinntheatre Directed by: Sophia Stepf Text Collaborators: Swar Thounaojam &Irawati karnik German Director and German’s Flinntheatre – an indo-German association that explores the areas of digital dramaturgy. Repetition and user choices to create a new hybrid form of theater which  embraces  performance art.  Actor M.D.Pallvi  in C Sharp C Blunt play                                                                                                    ...

On the eve of International Women's Day, one needs to know the struggle women have put forth for the last so many centuries to achieve the identity and status today. The word  Woman  connotes compassionate, loving, sacrificing, empathetic, dutiful, obedient and tolerant – the list goes on. Who have linked these adjectives to the word Woman and why? These adjectives are not chosen by women themselves but by men.    With these very adjectives women have been conditioned physically, mentally, psychologically and emotionally for centuries by men, the superior sex. These very adjectives glorify woman’s soul and ego and have    been misleading    the women for centuries and    have led them to servitude finally. Men have been clever in selecting these adjectives which have emotionalized and sentimentalized    women to oblige and do things, which no doubt empowers men.                ...

On the eve of International Women's Day, one needs to know the struggle women have put forth for the last so many centuries to achieve the identity and status today. The word Woman connotes compassionate, loving, sacrificing, empathetic, dutiful, obedient and tolerant – the list goes on. Who have linked these adjectives to the word Woman and why? These adjectives are not chosen by women themselves but by men.   With these very adjectives women have been conditioned physically, mentally, psychologically and emotionally for centuries by men, the superior sex. These very adjectives glorify woman’s soul and ego and have   been misleading   the women for centuries and   have led them to servitude finally. Men have been clever in selecting these adjectives which have emotionalized and sentimentalized   women to oblige and do things, which no doubt benefited men unendingly for centuries. The process of conditioning starts the moment the girl is born. What to ...

Jahangir with Falcon       When we look at paintings, we slowly realize how these paintings communicate to us. Each line, each form, each colour, the spatial arrangement speaks volumes. By studying these paintings, we can realize 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 behavioral 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 es...

                                                                          .            Myriad cultural changes have taken place in India within a decade and plus. With the advent of technology, life all over the world has changed drastically in every aspect. Everyone, young and old, has become techno savvy and is enthusiastic to adapt to new changes that the time demands. No doubt, it is a very positive sign to change oneself to the contemporary situation as life is governed by the technology these days. An awareness of cultural , social, political   shifts along with the pros and cons of technology enable one to deal with daily affairs with maturity and dignity. Social networking sites have brought people nearer across the world, and yet, at the same time ...

  In 60s and 70s, tailors were very much in demand.    Ready-to-wear clothing was not available in small towns, and in fact, nobody liked to wear ready-made dresses in those days. To discover a good tailor and get dresses stitched properly by them was an uphill task.    With lot of hopes and dreams, one used to give the fabric material along with a page torn from the fashion magazine, which carried the photograph or sketch of a latest fashionable skirt or top, in it.    Seeing the photograph, the tailor would nod and say he would stitch it the same way. He used to enter the details of measurements in a long note book, which had turned yellow with the passage of time and the pages at the corners had curled up by constant usage. He would ask us to come after a fortnight.    Since we were in hurry, that fortnight seemed to be like a quarter year, stretching endlessly.    When the particular day approached, with all possible positiv...