AAW #158

Ahmedabad looks back on 60 years of artist Manu Parekh’s work this week. Also in line are a music concert by playback singer Manhar Udhas, a heritage walk for children, and what promises to be a hilarious play derived from ‘Avengers’.

Seeing life and death existing together on the ghats of Varanasi, artist Manu Parekh never ceased to be in awe of this sight. The Padma Shri winning artist of Ahmedabad is best known for his paintings of Varanasi, which have occupied his imagination for over three decades out of his entire artistic career spanning six decades. Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum will house a mammoth retrospective of the artist’s body of work from 5th May to 3rd June. The show is a must-see for all, following its opening this week. Also not to be missed is a live performance by Manhar Udhas, famed playback singer and brother of Pankaj Udhas, who will be here on 6th May.

Theatre-lovers, meanwhile, have a palette of choices to choose from this week. Avengers at Ouroboros promises to be a tongue-in-cheek affair that involves audiences into its act, while (seemingly) taking a dig at the superhero series. Also lined up is a play on the life of Capt. Vikram Batra, an officer of the Indian army who is renowned for his heroic efforts during the days of the Kargil War. There is no dearth of comedy either, with 3 comedy short plays at Scrapyard theatre and an open mic stand-up comedy night on 6th May.

Looking to entertain your kids this summer while educating them, alongside? Take them along on the Children’s Ahmedabad History Walk, as it takes them across the Old City on May 6th.

This week’s inspiration for the Art Weekly is drawn from Vijayraj Vaidya, the Gujarati essayist, biographer and critic, best known for his contributions to Gujarati literary journalism. Born in Bhavnagar, Vaidya served as an editor on multiple magazines and led the criticism department of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in Surat for a while. He was delegated the highest literary award in Gujarati literature, called Ranjitram Gold Medal, in 1931. And his book Gatashatak nu Sahitya, which recounts the first century of modern Gujarati literature, was recognised as the most outstanding book written in Gujarati in 1955.