Apr 18, 2018
Like a postcard from the past, ‘Post-Age’ stirs up old memories and urges the viewer to engage with the art on display. For this charity exhibition, 187 artists from across India and Ahmedabad have made paintings on postcards. The show’s sales will go towards revitalisation of the fabled Artists’ Centre in Mumbai, which is often remembered as the ‘nursery’ of the Progressive Artists’ Group. Touching a postcard on my fingertips, I was transported into the realm of imagination and nostalgia on entering the exhibition Post-Age. I recalled my mother telling me how exhilarated she felt on receiving postcards from my father, in their early days of marriage. The postcard played an essential role in revolutionising global communication back in those days. But in the digital age, the postcard serves primarily as a remnant, connecting people to emotional memories of the past. But at the Post-Age group exhibition, postcards have been used as canvases for creating visual art, for reminiscing on how human connection may have been lost in the midst of our digital communication processes. This brilliant idea to use postcards in the show came to Nilesh Kinkale, the secretary of Artists’ Centre and Joint Secretary at Bombay Art Society, a year ago. The…
Mar 26, 2018
Among Marathi people, there has been a rich tradition of intellectuals, social workers and performing artists who keep temptations of material gain at arm’s length and with a low profile remain dedicated to work related to social and political causes. Imagine a bio-drama of two and a half hours’ duration, Samajswasthya, with the power…
Mar 27, 2018
In no time were all doubts set to rest on the third day of the ongoing Theatre Olympics at the Tagore Hall. Local coordinator of the event Bhargav Thakkar looked elated that young viewers had nearly packed the auditorium. They had the hunch that neither the language, French and German, nor the form of a…
Mar 29, 2018
Theatre Olympics at the Tagore Hall turned folksy on the World Theatre Day on Tuesday. Bharatiya Jan Natya Sangh’s Gabarghichoran ke Mai with close to twenty-five members in its cast brings a flavour of a regional folk theatre variety. The curtain opens on one-score strong Chorus seated upstage, singing men and women, including those turbaned and sari-clad, with accompanists on the tabla, naal, manjira and harmonium and so on. In the central acting area you see a young man (Sudama) dancing, who turns his back and you see a masked young woman. The rustic Bhojpuri charm sets the mood. Young viewers cheer the lusty style. It’s the freshening smell of the soil, missed in today’s popular urban theatre that is so welcome. The bride and the bridegroom are welcomed home…
Mar 26, 2018
Bodhayana wrote Bhagavadajjukeeyam in the 7th century as a satire on Buddhism. His dramatic talent, however, far exceeded his intent and the Sanskrit classic remains a source of interest for many performers. Both translations and performances have been attempted even in Gujarati. As the inaugural performance at the chapter of the 8th Theatre Olympics…
promotional
May 25, 2016
Lal Darwaja, the biggest hub for hawkers and patrons, where people flock as if everything is been sold free of cost. It can also be named as the commercial capital of Ahmedabad because it was historically one of the first…
Jun 24, 2016
Fernandes Bridge, the street is connecting readers with writers, students with publishers and curios beings with answers since decades. The Chopda Bazaar of Fernandes Bridge is one of the oldest Book Market in Ahmedabad Gujarat that serves thousands of people flocking…
Apr 11, 2016
The oldest library of Ahmedabad, Hazrat Pir Mohammad Shah Library, is blessed with quietness of the mosque that surrounds it. Ahmedabad has internationally carved its identity on the globe through the numerous mosques dotted across the city. The air confined…
Feb 16, 2016
There’s an interesting story behind Ashram Road of Ahmedabad getting its name. It is said that Ashram road is the road that connects the two ashrams of Mahatma Gandhi, Kochrab Ashram and Sabarmati Ashram. While Sabarmati Ashram is more popular nowadays,…