AAW #147

This week, look out for education reformist Sonam Wangchuk’s talk, an art exhibition of the luminary Ram Kumar, and the India Environment Festival in Ahmedabad.

It would seem that society is becoming evermore intolerant these days, if the brawl created by right-wing goons on Valentine’s Day in Ahmedabad – in the name of boycotting western cultural practices – is anything to go by. Such incidents are a tight slap on the face, calling into question fundamental rights of the youth. In the middle of all these ruckuses, Creative Yatra is on a constant watch to see that the city’s positive spirit remains alive. Despite such events, seeing people celebrate creativity with utmost enthusiasm and freedom in various pockets of the city restores our love for the city and its citizens, again and again. Here is the 147th edition of Ahmedabad Art Weekly, with this week’s list of must-see events, compiled exclusively for the resilient denizens of Ahmedabad.

This week in Ahmedabad, look out for a talk by Sonam Wangchuk, the innovator and education reformist most famous for inspiring Aamir Khan’s character in 3 Idiots. The talk is part of the India Environment Festival organised at Ahmedabad Haat. Also be sure not to miss the Ram Kumar Show, which will house more than 25 artworks representing the 7-decade career of the artist Ram Kumar, who is known as one of India’s leading abstract painters.

The original caricature made for this 147th Ahmedabad Art Weekly, is of celebrated Gujarati poet Balashankar Kantharia. The 19th-century rhymester hailed from Nadiad. He was a highly multilingual person, proficient in Gujarati, Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, Braj and Hindi languages. Fondly known by his pen name ‘Bal’, he was believed to be a follower of the poet Dalpatram and is considered to be the founder of contemporary Gujarati poetry and ghazals. People also think that the poet Kalapi learned a lot from Kantharia, who was an expert in the Shikharini meter. A few of his famous works include the ghazal Gujare Je Shire Tare, and his anthologies Kalant Kavi and Hariprem Panchdashi.