Category: Arts & Culture

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Arts & Culture Lite Blogs

Closer, not far: An attempt to ground emerging and experimental work

The work is made from hand spinning ‘Kala cotton’ — a cotton crop indigenous to India on a portable booklet spinning wheel (charkha) and hand knitting it into textures and structures that mimic the skin on our bodies…writes N. Lotungbeni Humtsoe

Questions without answers. Space without constraints. Love without limitations. Lovebirds, Communion presents Brooklyn based textile artist and knitwear designer Shradha Kochhars works titled “Closer, not far”, in an attempt to ground emerging and experimental work that would otherwise be dislocated in an increasingly digital world.

The work comprises sculptural and flat knitted objects in a soft ecru and brown. The objects include family portraits, alternate tools and future heirlooms illustrated as heavyweight dense abstract forms replicating the human body and its parts intertwined in a loosely coiled spiral as well as delicate translucent two-dimensional knitted drawings suspended midair.

The work is made from hand spinning ‘Kala cotton’ — a cotton crop indigenous to India on a portable booklet spinning wheel (charkha) and hand knitting it into textures and structures that mimic the skin on our bodies.

“Focusing and investigating resources lost and born out of colonization in India such as ‘Khadi’ — a self-reliant and equitable practice of textile making and ‘Kala Cotton’, a miracle cotton crop that sustains completely on seasonal rainfall as solutions to climate change, water shortage, soil degradation and social inequity. Built from an ongoing library of seed banks that documents indigenous cotton strains found across the world, unraveling the intersection of words — ‘cotton’, ‘cloth’, ‘colonization’ and ‘community’. My mission is to understand the potential in soil and to establish an alternate system of textile farming and making, that discourages modern technology that feasts on the felling of forests and extraction of resources.” says knitwear designer Shradha Kochhar.

When: September 8-24

When: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Where: Communion, Lovebirds Studio, Wesley Church, 62, BEST Marg, opposite Electric House, Scindia Society, Police Colony, Apollo Bandar, Colaba, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400005

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‘The 10 New Life-Changing Skills – Get Them & Get Started

In the earlier 3IRs, people did what they were told to do and therefore, they brought their bodies to work, leaving their minds and hearts behind. The green collar jobs that Industry 4.0 is giving birth to entails thinking and reflection…writes Vishnu Makhijani

An eagle does not fight the snake on the ground. Instead, it picks it up in its beak, soars up to the sky and drops it from there. The fall proves fatal and the snake dies. Height is the eagle’s area of strength and the snake’s area of weakness, brand builder and corporate educator Rajesh Srivastava, writes in a new book that provides a 10-point mantra that will prepare you for the green collar jobs of the 4th Industrial Revolution that is upon us.

“We are in the midst of Industry 4.0. It is powered by technology. Whenever it colludes with an industry it disrupts it. In its wake some businesses and jobs disappear, new ones are born, but almost all will change,” Srivastava told IANS in an interview of his book, ‘The 10 New Life-Changing Skills – Get Them & Get Started’ (Penguin Business)

“Let us take banking. The job of cashier is disappearing and is being taken over by the ATM. The jobs of other bank employees who took cash, processed payments, accepted Fixed Deposit (FD) and provided a host of other services are fast disappearing. In their place new jobs are being created,” he added, pointing out that what is true for banking is true for many industries.

For instance: retail has been disrupted by e-commerce, taxis have been disrupted by ride hailing service providers and entertainment by OTT platforms.

“Till now the world has witnessed 3 Industrial Revolutions (3IRs) which created blue collar and white-collar jobs. It required people to carryout instructions, not question authority and follow time-tested systems and processes.

“Now, we are in the midst of the 4th Industrial revolution (4IR), also called Industry 4.0. It is creating green collar jobs, which mandates people to ‘think, reflect and act’. This requires them to possess 10 new life-changing skills,” Srivastava said, enumerating these in four categories.

Higher level cognitive skills:

1. Creativity – This requires the use of imagination to combine and connect different ideas in new and imaginative ways to come up with big ideas.

2. Innovation – This requires the discovery of opportunities and implementing ideas to achieve profitable results.

3. Critical Thinking – This requires challenging traditions, questioning assumptions and defying norms that have outlived their utility, and installing new ones in their place.

4. Framing the Right Question – This will lead to the right answer, which will open up a treasure trove of new business and opportunities that would have remained undiscovered but for the right question.

5. Smart problem-solving – This requires leveraging creativity, innovation, critical thinking and similar skills to come up with smart solutions.

Self-management skill:

6. Lifelong learning – This increases employability, accelerates career advancement, enhances self-confidence, helps one remain relevant and face the unexpected with aplomb; in brief, a passport to being a lifelong winner.

Social skills:

7. Storytelling – It’s the most powerful way to put ideas into the world.

8. Influence without authority – This helps people to see your way of thinking, motivates them to support your initiatives and adopt your idea of their own free will.

Emotional skills:

9. Humanness – In the earlier 3IRs, people did what they were told to do and therefore, they brought their bodies to work, leaving their minds and hearts behind. The green collar jobs that Industry 4.0 is giving birth to entails thinking and reflection. Therefore, people must bring their minds, hearts and bodies to work. This has the potential to unlock people’s unlimited potential.

10. Entrepreneurial spirit – This is an intangible energy that inspires people to harbour aspirations greater than the resources at their command. When this spirit is alive, businesses keep their mojo and maintain their edge.

Considerable research has gone into the writing of the book.

“A decade back, I had come across research in which a question was posed to CEOs: What keeps you awake at night? Most said that the volatility, uncertainty and ambiguity which has become the new normal in business keeps them awake at night.

“They were then asked the next question: What is the magic pill which would give you a good night’s sleep? Most answered that if their team members were innovative then they would be able to sleep in peace, because innovation is strongly linked with value creation,” Srivastava said.

He also read the World Economic Forum reports which said that half of us will need to re-skill due to the onset of Industry 4.0, which is leading to increasing automation & transforming jobs.

“These triggers got me interested in identifying, understanding and writing about skills which can make people ready for Industry 4.0,” Srivastava explained.

How does he see the world a year from now – say, on January 1, 2024?

“I foresee a few things taking centre stage,” Srivastava said, listing these as:

* Sustainability will become a core aspect of an organization.

* AR/VR/MR will go mainstream.

* Robots, intelligent machines and humans will work alongside in harmony.

* Business will embrace a more powerful ‘purpose’.

* Productivity will increase, and it will be powered by technology

* Big Data will become bigger

* The Gig economy will gain greater traction

* The definition of workplace will change.

In the 1950s, Srivastava writes, Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to step on Mount Everest, was once on a reconnaissance expedition to the Mount Everest region. He looked toward the mighty mountain and said, “I will come again and conquer you because as a mountain, you can’t grow, but as a human, I can”.

Three years later, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay conquered Mount Everest.

“Entrepreneurial-spirited people look at intractable problems and say, I will come at you again and again till I conquer you. They do,” Srivastava concludes.

You’ve been shown the path – are you up to taking it?

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A citywide celebration of craftsmanship

Today world is talking about sustainability, responsible consumption, circularity, and ethics, but our craft sector has been practicing this for thousands of years…reports Asian Lite News

Chapter Four of India Craft Week (ICW) by Craft Village, a citywide celebration of the greatest craftsmanship, returns from 20 to 23 October 2022 at Okhla NSIC Ground, New Delhi, connecting art, design, and culture. The show will feature organizations, brands, institutions, designers, craftspeople, artisans, craftpreneurs, and makers from India and around the world. Live demos, seminars, cross-talks, installations, galleries, and film screenings are all part of the ICW experience.

This year’s topic is one of life’s most essential components, water. Additionally, it is thought that each craft developed and flourished in areas with access to or near water features, such as lakes or “Dariya.” Few people are aware of the unspoken link that Craft and Water have had ever since civilizations first emerged. This year’s theme emphasizes the value of water as a resource for surviving and existing. A commitment to protect undersea life by conserving water and not polluting it. The underwater realm is significant because of its mystique, surprises, vibrant hues, and natural forms. The largest source of inspiration has been marine life, which is also a powerful metaphor for a world that is beginning to respect the sustainable culture, the “slow life,” and organic goods.

More than 100 craftsmen, producers, craft companies, museums, organizations, and figureheads will attend the show, which is billed as India’s official craft week and the world’s second-largest craft week after London Craft Week.

“Craft has an intrinsic value to make the product conversational. The craft industry struggled greatly during the pandemic, and the artisans went through severe suffering. After the epidemic, India Craft Week was the only physical event last year, which gave artisans what they needed after a long break income, recognition, and orders. The India Craft Week, with a focus on “Good Stories Untold,” aims to bring stories from the craft sector and artisans who need to know and understand it rightly. It is intended to elevate the face of crafts which is still considered low-key.

Today world is talking about sustainability, responsible consumption, circularity, and ethics, but our craft sector has been practicing this for thousands of years. They are innovative, multifunctional, culturally related, sustainable, and have a timeless appeal. India Craft Week aims to connect modern customers, industry, and patrons with craftsmen, in a sense past with the present and future generations” says ItiTyagi, Founder of India Craft Week.

Through its curated experiences, Craft Village’s offspring ICW envision formulating a harmonious ecosystem of craft and the people who make it, connecting them with national and global opportunities. The idea was well received by designers, craft activists, and the social arms of the industry.

India Craft Week creates an ecosystem for weavers and artisanal communities. We too at AadyamHandwoven, a corporate social initiative of the Aditya Birla Group, work actively with weaver communities across India to create a self-sustaining ecosystem for the finest artisans by enabling infrastructure & nourishing their craft and thus impacting their quality of life. We engage with them to create evolved sensibilities for new markets & help them connect with contemporary consumers, and for which a like-minded platform such as ICW is an ideal collaborator at many levels” adds Manish Saksena, Lead, AadyamHandwoven.

This year India Craft Week will host its 5th and 6th edition International Craft Awards together to recognize and celebrate exceptional accomplishments worldwide, reiterating the message presented by the Craft Village team. With participation from more than8-nations, the winners of the Craft Awards would be announced at the event.

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Longlist announced for 2022 JCB Prize for Literature

The longlist was chosen from a vast range of submissions by writers from sixteen states writing in eight languages including English, published between 1st August 2021 and 31st July 2022…reports Asian Lite News

The 5th edition of the longlist is announced for the 2022 JCB Prize for Literature. The list of ten novels was selected by a panel of five judges: A.S. Panneerselvan, (Chair) journalist and editor, Amitabha Bagchi, author; Rakhee Balaram, author, and academician; Dr. J. Devika, translator, historian, and academician; and Janice Pariat, author.

The longlist for 2022 is dominated by 6 translations. Amidst titles in Bengali and Malayalam, titles in Urdu, Hindi, and Nepali have been featured in the longlist for the first time. A truly diverse representation of what Indian fiction has to offer, the 2022 longlist brings forth stories from Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Kalimpong, Punjab, Kolkata, Kerala, and the heartland.

The longlist was chosen from a vast range of submissions by writers from sixteen states writing in eight languages including English, published between 1st August 2021 and 31st July 2022.

Commenting on the longlist for 2022 and the overall reading experience, A.S. Panneerselvan, Chair of the jury observed, “This year’s deliberation to select the novels for the JCB prize for the 2022-long list was an enriching experience. It was a rich collection, the translations from different languages showed how writers were pushing the linguistic and creative boundaries to document our lives. These ten novels are in a sense a metaphor of contemporary India, where each language is permitted to shine; its intrinsic beauty is not subsumed by the other.”

The 2022 longlist are:

Rohzin by Rahman Abbas, translated from Urdu by Sabika Abbas Naqvi (Vintage Books, 2022)

Imaanby ManoranjanByapari, translated from the Bengali by Arunava Sinha(EKA, 2021)

Escaping the Land by Mamang Dai (Speaking Tiger, 2021)

Paradise of Food by Khalid Jawed, translated from Urdu by Baran Farooqi (Juggernaut, 2022)

Song of the Soil by ChudenKabimo, translated from Nepali by AjitBaral(Rachna Books, 2021)

Spirit Nights by EasterineKire (Simon &Schuster, 2022)

Crimson Spring by Navtej Sarna (Aleph Book Company, 2022)

The Odd Book of Baby Names by Anees Salim (Penguin Hamish Hamilton, 2021)

Tomb of Sandby Geetanjali Shree, translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell(Penguin Random House India, 2022)

Valli by Sheela Tomy, translated from Malayalam by JayasreeKalathil (Harper Perennial, 2022)



The JCB Prize for Literature is now in its fifth year, and the 2018 Prize was granted to Benyamin for his Jasmine Days, which was translated from Malayalam by Shahnaz Habib. Madhuri Vijay won the prize in 2019 for her film The Far Field. The Prize was awarded in 2020 to S. Hareesh for his Moustache, which was translated from Malayalam by JayasreeKalathil, and in 2021 to M.Mukundan for Delhi: A Soliloquy, which was translated by Fathima E.V. and Nandakumar K.

Talking about the journey of the JCB Prize for Literature and the support it has had from the industry, MitaKapur, Literary Director, said, “The JCB Prize is chuffed with pride to announce a Longlist of ten books that are bracing, vigorous, transformative, experimental in voice and story. Elemental to storytelling, each book takes soaring flights of imagination even as it is strongly rooted in India. The Prize enters its fifth year, marking 50 Long-listed titles that catch the pulse of our literary traditions. This journey, of course, would be incomplete without the publishers who bring these stories to light, the bookstores, online and offline, that give them a platform, and the readers who open themselves to the new worlds these books create.”

The JCB Prize for Literature is awarded each year to a distinguished work of fiction by an Indian writer. The jury will announce the shortlist of five titles in October. The winner of the Rs 25-lakh JCB Prize for Literature will be announced on 19th November. If the winning work is a translation, the translator will receive an additional Rs 10 lakh. Each of the 5 shortlisted authors will receive Rs 1 lakh; if a shortlisted work is a translation, the translator will receive Rs 50,000.

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Christie’s New York celebrates Asian Art Week

Christie’s is honored to present the dedicated online auction Thoughts Across The Waters: Asian Art From the David Drabkin Collection taking place during Asian Art Week in New York on 14-28 September…reports Asian Lite News

Christie’s New York celebrates Asian Art Week with nine auctions, five live and four online. Explore this sweeping landscape of offerings, featuring fine Himalayan bronzes, samurai armor, Japanese swords and a selection of early ceramics, Imperial porcelain, huanghuali furniture, jade and hardstone carvings from China. Encounter diverse artistic traditions, beginning with Indian court paintings, Tibetan art and fine woodblock prints by Toshusai Sharaku, Kitagawa Utamaro and Katsushika Hokusai. Discover how modern South Asian artists like Maqbool Fida Husain, Ram Kumar, Francis Newton Souza, Arpita Singh and Manjit Bawa interpret narrative figuration. Experience a range of highlights from important private and institutional collections, including The John C. and Susan L. Huntington Collection, the T. Eugene Worrell Collection, the J. M. Hu Zande Lou Collection, the David Drabkin Collection, the Collection of Romi Lamba, The Ehime Bunkakan Collection, Kaisendo Museum Collection and others.

South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art

21 September 2022 | 12:30PM

This various-owner sale presents a significant group of works from South Asia and its diaspora in the 20th and 21st centuries. Highlights include remarkable early paintings by Ram Kumar, Maqbool Fida Husain, Francis Newton Souza, Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, George Keyt and Anwar Jalal Shemza, held for years in private collections and appearing at auction for the first time. Also included are exceptional works by Narayan Shridhar Bendre, Tyeb Mehta, Sayed Haider Raza, Jagdish Swaminathan and Krishen Khanna and important works on paper by Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Nasreen Mohamedi, Zarina and Bhupen Khakhar.

Centering the Figure: South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art from the Collection of Romi Lamba

21 September 2022 | 10:00AM

The significant collection from which this selection is drawn was assembled over the last thirty years by Romi Lamba and his wife Sagiri, longtime collectors, supporters and patrons of the arts based in Hong Kong. Highlights include important paintings of Arpita Singh, Manjit Bawa, Anjolie Ela Menon and Jogen Chowdhury, largely unseen in public and appearing at auction for the first time. Also included in the catalogue is an exceptional collection of contemporary Indian photography by artists such as Dayanita Singh, Pushpamala N. and Vivan Sundaram, and contemporary negotiations with figuration by Anju Dodiya, Atul Dodiya, Jitish Kallat and Ravinder Reddy among other artists.

Japanese and Korean Art

20 September 2022 | 10AM

Our diverse offerings of Japanese and Korean art are highlighted by an array of important arms and armor of the samurai, including rare Japanese swords from the Kaisendo Museum. Other highlights include, fine woodblock prints by Toshusai Sharaku, Kitagawa Utamaro and Katsushika Hokusai from private and museum collections; innovative Japanese modern and contemporary art by Shinoda Toko, Suda Kokuta and Iwasaki Eri; exceptional lacquerware, sculptures, paintings, screens and important Korean works of art and paintings.

The John C. and Susan L. Huntington Collection

21 September 2022 | 8:30AM

The John C. and Susan L. Huntington Collection, comprises works of art from across the Himalayas and South Asia. Noted scholars in the fields of Buddhism and Asian art history, Susan L. Huntington and her late husband, John C. Huntington, made immeasurable contributions to the field over the course of four decades as professors at The Ohio State University. Many of the works in their collection are published in their seminal publications, including The Circle of Bliss and Leaves from the Bodhi Tree, representing their passion and interest in every work they collected. Highlights from the collection include a fifteenth-sixteenth-century Tibetan Vajravali mandala painting, an inscribed Pala-period stele of standing Buddha, and an idyllic painting from the late eighteenth-century ‘Bharany’ Ramayana series. Further works from this collection will be offered in a concurrent online sale, Indian and Himalayan Art Online featuring The John C. and Susan L. Huntington Collection.

Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

22 – 23 September 2022 | 8:30AM

This sale features works from important private collections and institutions such as the J. M. Hu Zande Lou Collection, the T. Eugene Worrell Collection, the David Drabkin Collection, and the Ehime Bunkakan Museum. Highlights of the sale include a very rare and large gilt-decorated Yongzheng-mark-and-period celadon-glazed vase, ganlanping; a rare and important Yuan dynasty molded and biscuit-reserved Longquan celadon octagonal vase, meiping; a rare Yongzheng mark-and-period Ge-type vase from an important private collection; a very rare huanghuali round-corner tapered cabinet from an important private New York collection; a rare pair of Qianlong mark-and-period green jade gu-form vases from a Hong Kong collector, and a selection of rank badges from the David Hugus Collection.

Online Sales:

Japanese and Korean Art Online

14-27 September 2022 | Online

This season’s Japanese and Korean Art online offers our selections over diverse genres. From a Kamakura Period sculpture to a Joseon Dynasty two-tier chest, this auction presents an exciting set of armor, woodblock prints including a fine selection of surimono and works by Harunobu, Hiroshige and Hasui; edition works by Shinoda Toko; selections of paintings, sagemono, sculptures.

Thoughts Across the Waters: Asian Art from the David Drabkin Collection

14-28 September 2022 | Online

Christie’s is honored to present the dedicated online auction Thoughts Across The Waters: Asian Art From the David Drabkin Collection taking place during Asian Art Week in New York on 14-28 September. The collection was assembled over decades by David Drabkin, spanning major dynasties and across a wide range of media including primarily Chinese works of art, Chinese paintings and Japanese art. Highlights include a 16th century monumental landscape attributed to Wang Shichang, a Jichimu corner leg table and Kano School screens, as a testament to the collector’s unfailing curiosity and wide-ranging interests.

Indian & Himalayan featuring The John C. and Susan L. Huntington Collection

14-28 September 2022 | Online
This fall, Christie’s presents Indian and Himalayan Art Online featuring The John C. and Susan L. Huntington Collection. Headlining the sale is the John C. and Susan L. Huntington Collection, which will include a large selection of Tibetan paintings and Indian and Himalayan works of art collected by the noted scholars over the course of their career. The sale with also include property from other esteemed private collections, including a vast offering of Indian court paintings, South Asian sculpture, fine Himalayan bronzes, and Tibetan paintings. With estimates ranging between $600 and $120,000, this sale presents opportunities for both burgeoning and established collectors. Highlights from The John C. and Susan L. Huntington Collection will also be offered in a live sale on 21 September.

Art of China Online

14-29 September 2022 | Online

This season’s Art of China online features a diverse selection, from ceramics and jades to textiles and landscape paintings. Highlights of the sale include a pair of huali-inset boxwood square stands, an embroidered midnight-blue silk Daoist robe, and a large blue and white ‘phoenix and qilin’ jar, as well as rank badges from the David Hugus collection.

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‘An Ancient Modernness’

In January 2022, tapestries based on Madhvi and Manu Parekh’s Parekh’s paintings provided a dramatic background for models at Christian Dior’s haute couture show in Paris DAG…reports Asian Lite News

DAG announced its participation in the 10th edition of Frieze Masters 2022 with Madhavi Parekh: An Ancient Modernness, a solo artist presentation featuring ten works from the 1970s, a decade that marked a pivotal period in the artist’s life as she relocated, with her family, to New Delhi-exchanging the cultural and cultured life of Calcutta (now Kolkata) with one that was more opinionated and opulent.

The blue-chip gallery will stage Madhvi Parekh in the Spotlight section dedicated to 28 women artists born between 1900 and 1951. Inspired by both village art and a modernist vocabulary but belonging to neither, Parekh’s works explore relationships between people as well as their environment, emerging from her interest in art when she was pregnant with her first child. Thoughtfully curated by Kishore Singh, Senior Vice-President, DAG, the exhibition opens on 12 October 2022 for five days until 16 October 2022 and marks the debut for the artist’s work in Great Britain.

Reserved by temperament, 1970s turned Parekh’s inwardness towards the care of her young daughters. For them, she created a world of alternate fantasy, a visualisation of all that was fantastic and magical, an escape from reality in which she was free to explore the sea she had left behind in Bombay (now Mumbai) or the memories of a happy and joyful childhood growing up in a village in Gujarat in western India. Her escapism provided her, the key to an idyllic world, one in which beings real and imagined, winged or terrestrial, friendly or reviled, co-habited together in a space that was equally everyone’s. Amorphous shapes assumed identities and personalities, the non-living shared space with the living, no one’s existence threatened the others, and their co-dependency was thrilling as well as enthralling.

Her paintings took the form of stories she told her little girls, filling their heads with lessons from an ancient past that were creative and laced with the songs and innocence of childhood. Her use of colours exemplified this cheerful optimism but the technique recounted too the manner in which village homes, brushed with mud and raked by sharp implements to create patterns, would be used as canvases for painting familiar motifs. Her canvases replicated the pattern to give the paintings a texture that became part of her unique identity as an artist. In reinforcing a world of dependency, Parekh used a folk language that she created as a modern artist-presciently, as it turns out-that the environment is not the domain of a few humans but belongs equally to all.

In January 2022, tapestries based on Madhvi and Manu Parekh’s Parekh’s paintings provided a dramatic background for models at Christian Dior’s haute couture show in Paris. “This endorsement of a vitally important Indian woman artist by an international company such as Dior strengthens our belief in Madhvi Parekh’s uniqueness and her global appeal,” said Ashish Anand, CEO and Managing Director, DAG.

“Her work occupies a territory entirely of her own making,” according to Kishore Singh, the curator of the Spotlight booth on Madhvi Parekh, “She has constantly resisted pressures to conform and established her presence in a voluble art market where she stands apart for her distinctiveness and uncompromising focus.”

Often extolled as a ‘woman’ painter, Parekh’s art has never been premised on gender. Instead, she occupies an artistic realm with strong ethical values based on a sense of humanitarianism, environmental inclusion, and memory. Entirely self-taught, Madhvi’s interest in art was spurred to an extent by her artist husband, Manu Parekh, and began with a perusal of Paul Klee’s Pedagogical Sketchbook. Dots and lines fascinated her, and soon she was playing with them, creating an art form that has challenged critics and art writers because there is no easy category to which she can be easily confined. At most, it can be said that her work parallels folk art, even though it is not like any known folk form in India or elsewhere, and has the rawness and energy of modernism. Sometimes referred to as a folk modernist, hers is a style that is distinctive as well as unique.

Owing to the long-standing relationship with the artist, DAG has shown Madhvi’s work at major exhibitions around the world and also featured in books in India and overseas. A major retrospective exhibition, ‘The Curious Seeker’ organised by DAG, opened in New Delhi in 2017 and travelled to Mumbai, Ahmedabad and New York to critical acclaim. The artist has been featured in a documentary film along with her artist husband.

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‘AAKAAR’: Vibrant creations of visual language

The key elements of Bhaskar Singha’s canvases that give the viewer a feeling of illumination are his transparent technique and use of delicate, fresh colours…reports Asian Lite News

The title of the group composition by fourteen artists from KALAAKALPAM organisations from around India is AAKAAR, which signifies Form or Shape. The stunning group art exhibition, titled AAKAAR, will run from September 1 through September 7, 2022, at the third and fourth art galleries of Lalit Kala Akademi in Mandi House, New Delhi.

Aashima Mehrotra depicted the difficulties of independence, inventiveness, and emancipation while painting the “distorted liberation”. Through the intricate use of colour, she aimed to illustrate real-world circumstances.

Anoop Kumar Srivastava paints on a variety of subjects, including Shreengar, Samarpan, Spiritualism, and the world of our childhood that has been forgotten.

The key elements of Bhaskar Singha’s canvases that give the viewer a feeling of illumination are his transparent technique and use of delicate, fresh colours.

On his most recent canvases, Ganga Narayan Maharana uses transparent and translucent acrylic paints. He draws inspiration from the Natyashastra, a work of mediaeval literature that discusses the “Nine RASA” philosophy. One of the group’s more experienced artists, Gautam Partho Roy, thinks like a little child. He constantly anticipates miracles or magical surprises. He uses a direct style of communication to establish a rapport and make his artistic products understandable. His canvases are great instances of vigorous brushwork, clarity of line, and lyrical colour harmony with exquisite imagery.

Gurdeep Singh created a wooden sculpture that uses little metal to represent the Hindu mythological figure of the war goddess “Kali” as a symbol of Shakti or Power. A talented artist, Kangkan Barman values the originality of conception in his works of art. Since he spent the majority of his life outside of the home, city life had an influence on his works.

When travelling outside, Mamata Samantaray used to depict aspects of the adversity faced by rural women by covering their faces with a ghunghat. An academic once observed, “Art is the mysterious manifestation of the secret of nature.” Manoj Kumar Sahu draws inspiration from nature for his works as well. He considers the universe to be a sizable living area.

Meenaketan Pattnaik is a Bhubaneswar-based figurative colourist. His current art practice is on “contemporary social emotions”, which is the philosophy of sociology linked with youth psychology.

Artist Rajender Kumar has always been moved by force and energy that has inspired him to create a passion for life in the discrete images and figures created by him. Rita Dutta is a sculptor who mostly made sculptures in the bronze medium. She got inspiration from her daily lifestyle. Rita tries to get the ideas in three-dimensional form.

Sanjeev Kumar Singh is a keen observer of social issues across sections of society irrespective of class and colour. To understand the deep-rooted problems of our country, Sanjeev picks up the struggle of the existence of rickshaw pullers and farmers, including child labour, and portrays their world in an impressionist way. Santanu Sarkar is a self-communicator. He loves to talk with himself because he loves himself and rejects the false love of others towards him.

This artist group has been active for the last decade in organizing different artist camps and exhibitions across the nation under the banner of ‘Art Convergence’. The group was renamed and registered as KALAAKALPAM in 2022. Come to Lalit Kala Akademi and celebrate the rich thoughts of each artist by looking at the masterpieces, the signature of spectacular creations of visual language.

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Serendipity Arts Festival back after two years

Quasar Thakore Padamsee will helm the Theatre segment of the festival and Prahlad Sukhtankar will curate the culinary quotient…reports Asian Lite News

The line-up of curators for the fifth edition of Serendipity Arts Festival 2022, scheduled to take place from December 15 to 23 in Panaji, Goa, after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic has been announced.

Curating the section on Craft, Pramod Kumar K.G. will highlight the world of specialist books on the art history of India through an immersive exhibition, and Anjana Somany will enliven the world of craft and its traditions of materiality through space-making.

Quasar Thakore Padamsee will helm the Theatre segment of the festival and Prahlad Sukhtankar will curate the Culinary quotient.

Bickram Ghosh and Ehsaan Noorani will curate music with a wide range of live concerts covering a multi-genre range of classical, folk, indie pop, and rock. Geeta Chandran and Mayuri Upadhya will put together classical, experimental and contemporary dance performances and workshops this year. Visual Arts curators Sudarshan Shetty and Veerangana Solanki will showcase filmmakers to operate and explore the post-pandemic transition from the virtual to the physical.

Speaking about the festival, Sunil Kant Munjal, Founder Patron, Serendipity Arts Foundation, said, “In our attempt to grow the economy over the last many decades, the enormity and significance of India’s cultural heritage and its arts often get missed. As a result, we have allowed the arts to go into decline. This festival showcases the many dimensions through which the arts and culture touch and enrich our lives. Through the many diverse programmes and events, we hope to get more and more people interested and engaged, in the process enhancing one of the most fascinating aspects of India’s true soft power.”

Smriti Rajgarhia, Director, Serendipity Arts Foundation, added, “We have announced our curators for the Serendipity Arts Festival 2022 and we are aiming to host an inclusive festival that challenges the public at large to push beyond accepted notions and conventions in arts and culture.”

In addition to the core programming, several special projects have also been lined up, including a collaborative exhibition between four galleries; a special archival exhibition by Jyotindra Jain; an international collaboration between Rahaab Allana and Pascal Beausse (CNAP, France); an exhibition on NFTs; and film screenings curated by Harkat Studios.

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Exhibiting the incredible India’s illustrious history

Tourists can also stop by the Snack Point run by Caf Delhi Heights with a specially crafted menu and the Souvenir Shop managed by Luv India Concepts…reports Asian Lite News

The monument at Red Fort, a top-notch visitor centre has opened in the Red Fort, according to Mitra, Dalmia Bharat Ltd. The multi-story centre, which opens to the public exhibits the rich heritage of the Mughal-era when the fort was created and has been curated in close cooperation with the Ministries of Culture, Tourism and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

At this transcendent centre, visitors can learn about Incredible India’s illustrious history through mesmerising major attractions like interactive experiences and distinctive exhibitions. A historic British barrack from the 19th century that has been preserved serves as the home of the Red Fort Centre.

Commenting on the inauguration of the national attraction in the capital, Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director, Dalmia Bharat Limited, said, “We welcome our fellow citizens and guests from across the world to visit and experience Delhi’s old-world charm through the best-in-class Red Fort Centre. It aims to provide a first-hand understanding of how the transformation and history of Delhi and the majestic monument’s grand opulence have left a mark. We are hopeful that our nation-building efforts will lead to greater awareness about our country’s rich heritage and we also look forward to giving back to the community through multiple facets, including employment generation that this endeavour is creating.”

Two levels make up the Red Fort Centre. Visitors can enjoy a unique 10-minute 360-degree immersive viewing experience with wall, ceiling and floor projections on the ground floor, as well as a space for augmented reality photography. Tourists can also stop by the Snack Point run by Caf Delhi Heights with a specially crafted menu and the Souvenir Shop managed by Luv India Concepts.

The first floor houses the Interpretation Centre which is divided into the following sections:

* Safar: An introduction to Delhi before the establishment of Red Fort and Shahjahanabad

* Zindagi: The magnificent architecture, royal traditions and luxurious living in the fort

* Tareekh: Defining moments in India’s history with Red Fort as the fulcrum

* Hum Ek Hain: Positioning Red Fort as the Fort of India and India’s unity in diversity. This section houses the Harmony Installation, the Unity Room and the Pledge for India

From Tuesday through Sunday, the Red Fort Visitor Centre is open to the people from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Red Fort is shut for the public on Mondays). The first floor Interpretation Centre, the 360-degree Show, and the AR Photography will each require a little ticket costing Rs 100 per person. Costs for the Snack Point and Souvenir Shop will be based on the menu and price list.

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‘Who will not be disturbed by this?’

Talk to her about the peculiar silence of moderate Muslims whenever violence manifests in the name of Islam, and she asserts that have a very “different character”…writes Sukant Deepak

Even as images of author Salman Rushdie being stabbed multiple times on stage in New York by Hadi Matar, suspected of being sympathetic to Shia extremism, continues to haunt, another author

against whom several fatwas shave been issued for her “anti-Islamic remarks” says that she is extremely disturbed after a religious leader, addressing a rally of thousands in Pakistan yesterday called for her to be assassinated.

Known for her writings on the oppression of women and criticism of religion, several of her works are banned in Bangladesh, the country of her origin. She has been living in exile since 1994. After living for more than 10 years in Europe and the US, she moved to India in 2004.

“While I have had several fatwas issued against me in the past, this is the first time that someone has announced my name in front of such a huge gathering and demanded that I be killed. Who will not be disturbed by this? Look at my Twitter handle, there are so many comments saying that after Rushdie, it is now my turn. I am still confused about whether to delete or retain those tweets. Maybe I should not, if something happens to me, people should get to know… Of course, I do have protection, but anyone will feel insecure after what happened to Rushdie, no?” she tells.

Talk to her about the peculiar silence of moderate Muslims whenever violence manifests in the name of Islam, and she asserts that have a very “different character”.

“While some progressive Muslims are against violence, they are afraid to speak as that might put their lives in danger. But then, silence is of two kinds — one that emerges from fear — and the other that comes from supporting them without speaking a word.”

Stressing that while many religions have slowly evolved, changed with the times and started considering man and women equal, one can still face dire consequences if Islam is criticised, Nasrin adds: “If I scrutinise Islam, rest assured, I will be attacked. Sadly, it has been exempted from criticism. Let us not forget that Islamic rule has been used for political purposes as well.

“Instead of laws based on equality and justice, they have rules against them. Children are being brainwashed to become fundamentalists and terrorists. So how do you expect change?” she concludes.

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