Caleidoscope

A walk through former photojournalist Tanmay Chowdhury’s exhibition reminds visitors of the maxim — a picture is worth a thousand words.

Chowdhury’s photographs, which were on display at Weavers Studio, are manifestations of his perception of Calcutta, a city with “endless scope”.

“I have been to the same riverside, the same ghat a number of times. Yet, every visit has given me a new form, composition and a picture,” Chowdhury said.

His favourite haunts are the ghats and underpasses near Howrah bridge and station, places that see the birth of new stories everyday. “Every person in the picture has a character, a reason for him/her being there and a story. I like to bring out and display their stories,” said the business graduate from Illinois.

Photographs at the exhibition, titled Mise en Scene, were not restricted to Calcutta alone. There were pictures from Mumbai as well. One that caught the eye was of pigeons taking flight in front of The Taj Mahal Palace.

A projector also played a short film by Chowhdury on a screen. “My work attempts to throw light on the underlying relationship between photography and film by composing local street drama in a cinematic way,” said the artist. “Hence, I’ve arranged to exhibit my photographs along with this film. Photography is basically capturing a moment from the motion of life. And if you notice, you will find a figure in motion in each of my pictures here. I wanted a balance between the two.”

Play for kids, by kids

About 40 children participated in three plays staged by Eso Natak Shikhi at Star theatre recently.

All the plays were scripted and directed by the founder-director of Eso Natak Shikhi, Tapas Das. “The kids worked really hard and rehearsed every Sunday evening under my guidance. My idea is to give them a break from lessons. It’s more about enthusiastic participation than outstanding performances,” he said.

Ayantika Biswas, a first- year political science student at Jaipuria college, has been training with Das for five years. “It has become an addiction I can’t let go of. Rehearsing for plays is a great stress-buster and gives me a lot of confidence,” said the girl who played the protagonist’s mother in Moner Katha.

The other plays staged were Maronastro and Khwaish.

Compiled by Trina Chaudhuri and Showli Chakraborty

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / Caleidoscope / Sunday – July 27th, 2014