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Victoria Memorial Hall collections to find place in Google’s digital storehouse of art
Kolkata :
The Victoria Memorial Hall’s collections will find a place in the largest-ever digital repository of exhibits and collections on a global platform created by Google. Apart from Victoria, some others on the list are Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art in New York, British Museum, National Gallery and Tate Gallery in London, Musee d’Orsay in Paris, Acropolis Museum in Athens and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Victoria Memorial curator Jayanta Sengupta told TOI that the museum and its finest collection of art and artifacts are expected to join the Google Cultural Institute, a cyber platform created by Google Art that enables users to view high resolution images from various museums and even compile their own digital collection. It is fast emerging as an invaluable resource for researchers as they can have access to objects from museums across the world and learn about art objects, their history and artists at the click of a mouse.
“A team from Google will reach Kolkata with sophisticated video and still cameras to film the museum and photograph the 120-odd highlights. Of these, they will select one item and photograph it with high-definition gigapixel camera so that it can be magnified online without distortion. Once the exercise is over in a couple of months, a virtual tour of the galleries at Victoria Memorial will be created and the images uploaded on Google Cultural Institute,” said Sengupta.
Victoria Memorial signed a memorandum of understanding with Google Art in February 2013 and has been communicating with the team since. The museum has sent the list of 120 items it considers the best among its collection of 33,000+ objects of art apart from the 10,000+ small objects like stamps.
Though the Google team is at liberty to select any one of the 120 objects listed by Sengupta’s team as the museum’s highlight for the gigapixel photography, the curator has suggested a painting titled ‘General Claude Martin & his Friends’. The painting that has an alternative title ‘Colonel Polier with his Friends’ depicts Colonel Antoine Polier, Claude Martin, and John Wombwell with the painter himself, Johann Zoffany (1733-1810), in the background, being waited on by Indian servants, probably in Lucknow around 1786-87.
“We have suggested the painting by 18th century German neoclassical painter because it is intricate. There are six paintings within the painting that can be enlarged and viewed in detail when photographed in a gigapixel image,” explained Sengupta. Other paintings that make the cut are ‘Bharat Mata’ and ‘Passing of Shah Jahan’.
Among the other objects in the highlights shortlist are oil paintings by Thomas and William Daniel, Abanindranath Tagore and Gaganendranath Tagore, a 1964 copy of the Ain-e-Akbari manuscript, Persian translation of Aristotle’s treatise Six Principles of Ethical Life and commentary by Dara Shukoh as well as his Persian translations of Gita and Upanishad, Aurungzeb’s personal Quran, Tipu Sultan’s dagger, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s sword and Queen Victoria’s piano.
“Once Victoria Memorial Hall joins the others on the Google Cultural Institute website, all objects that comprise the museum highlights will be there for the world to see and experience online. We have been working on documenting each object, detailing the history, the artist and its relevance. We are currently in the final lap of that exercise and expect to be on the website by this yearend or early next year,” said Sengupta.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Subhro Niyogi, TNN / September 07th, 2014
Ishapore factory develops Indian variant of AK-47
Kolkata :
Rifle Factory, Ishapore, one of the oldest ordnance factories in the country, has successfully designed an assault rifle on the lines of the AK-47.
Sources in the Ordnance Factory Board said the prototype of this weapon had successfully cleared field trials by the Army, the Indian Air Force and the Sashastra Seema Bal.
The Ishapore factory will soon start production of 50,000 units of this rifle in the first phase.
For over a decade now, the Ordnance Factory Board has been attempting to develop an indigenous assault rifle on the lines of the AK-47. Initially, there was some embarrassment after an ordnance factory displayed an indigenous replica of the AK-47 at a defence expo in Delhi. This didn’t go unnoticed and Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the world’s most sold and used assault rifle that goes by his name, threatened to file a copyright violation suit against the Indian ordnance factory.
“Since then, our designers have been attempting to develop an assault rifle, using the AK-47 as a model but without replicating any of its mechanism. Three ordnance factories tried to develop their own variants. These were Rifle Factory of Ishapore, the Small Arms Factory of Kanpur and the Ordnance Factory of Tiruchirapalli. The Ishapore factory has a long history of developing and making rifles. During the World Wars, this factory produced .303 bolt-action rifles for the Allied forces. After the 1962 Sino-India conflict, the factory developed and built the 7.62mm self-loading semi-automatic rifle. This rifle was called the Ishapore Rifle and it went on to become the mainstay for the Indian security forces for several decades. In the 90’s, the factory started manufacturing the 5.56mm Insas rifles that are still the primary personal weapon of the Indian infantryman,” an official said.
The three factories at Ishapore, Kanpur and Tiruchirapalli built prototypes that underwent tests for the first time earlier this year. Minor defects were detected in all three variants. While the one developed by the Ishapore factory was declared fit in all other aspects, it failed to operate successfully in mud. An assault rifle has to be effective in all conditions, even when fired from under slush.
“This defect was rectified subsequently and when the final round of tests was conducted, the Ishapore variant was declared the best. This is an improved version of any assault rifle and the designers borrowed several facets from the 5.56mm Insas, which was also developed at Ishapore, while making this rifle. With the Insas going out of production, facilities at the Ishapore factory were lying idle. The new order will sustain the factory for the times to come,” the official added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Jayanta Gupta, TNN / October 07th, 2014
Film history to come alive near Tolly studio para
Kolkata :
The Mamata Banerjee government will set up an eight-storey film centenary museum in Kolkata where film artefacts and memorabilia have mostly been at the disposal of private hands.
The archive, which will be a treat for both film lovers and researchers, will come up at Tollygunge, not too far away from the studio-para and its associated industry, Tollywood.
The museum project, meant to mark 100 years of Indian cinema and the “golden age” of Bengali cinema, will maintain a record of films released down the ages. The proposed ‘Cinema Centenary Campus’, as it has been christened, will have a built-up space of 60,000 square feet. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art galleries and lighting systems. “We shall try to complete the project at the earliest,” said PWD minister Sankar Chakraborty.
The state information and culture department is preparing a list of films to be acquired for the project. Another list of restored films, which will be transferred into negatives, is also being chalked out.
Starting off as a ready reckoner of the history of cinema, especially Bengali cinema, the museum will trace the evolution of celluloid from the Lumiere brothers to Raja Harishchandra and beyond, and showcase Indian and Bengali cinema through three principal eras — silent, golden and modern.
The multi-storey structure, which will come up at the erstwhile Radha Studio complex beside M R Bangur Hospital, will have a basement for parking. The PWD has taken up the construction. The fire services department has also been roped in for a thorough fire prevention network.
A senior PWD official said: “We are doing the project for the information and culture department. Films have been a powerful tool for communication and filmmaking has emerged as the strongest creative force.”
The biggest attraction of the project will be a library that will document film history right from the era of silent movies to those of the digital age. Space has been reserved to construct guest rooms for visiting film artists, directors and technicians, a cafeteria, a curio shop and an auditorium. While inaugurating the renovated century-old Technicians’ Studio in February this year, the chief minister had expressed her intention to create an exhaustive film museum. She apparently got the idea from the 6,000-square foot National Museum of Indian Cinema set up by the Union ministry of information and broadcasting in Mumbai. However, Banerjee’s plans are on a much bigger scale. The centenary campus will hold film-related seminars and workshops, apart from regular film shows.
Vaults will be installed in the proposed museum with state-of-the-art temperature and humidity control systems for preserving colour and black and white films. Visitors will also be able to watch old classics on a number of monitors or listen to rare film music from the past — a sort of free jukebox.
A two-storey building for film studies that existed on the Radha Studio campus on Deshpran Sashmal Road at Tollygunge is now being dismantled for the construction of the film centenary museum.
The erstwhile Left Front government first conceived the idea of a cinema centenary building in 1995. A two-storey building on the premises of the historic Radha Films Studio was constructed to implement this idea in 1998. But the project ran into administrative snarl-ups and financial crunch and has remained a non-starter.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Ajanta Chakraborty, TNN / October 07th, 2014
Laxman to deliver Pataudi lecture
One of Kolkata’s favourite sons, V.V.S. Laxman, will deliver the prestigious Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Memorial Lecture here on October 19, the eve of India’s fifth One-day International against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens.
Laxman will be the third cricketer to deliver the lecture after the peerless Sunil Gavaskar and Anil Kumble.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has decided to invite all former India captains to the lecture as this will form a part of the celebrations of 150 years of Eden Gardens.
The lecture was originally slated for October 18 but was postponed by a day by the Board.
A book and a documentary will be released on October 16 where former captain Chandu Borde and Salim Durrani are expected to be present.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Cricket / by Special Correspondent / Kolkata – October 07th, 2014
Xavier’s alumni shares expansion vision
Kolkata :
This year’s Beyond Boundaries — the annual global convention of St Xavier’s College — will reach out to its global alumni to collect funds to aid the college’s ambitious expansion plans.
The convention is slated to be held at Melbourne between October 10 and 12.
“In the last three years, we have partially reached our vision,” said Fr Felix Raj, the college principal. “The Raghavpur campus, which is the rural face of St Xavier’s College, has benefited around 126 students who have already enrolled in various courses started on the campus. In Raghavpur, we have been able to begin three courses at the moment — BCom honours, Bengali Honours and BA (general) courses. We will soon open history honours and political science honours on the same campus. We are also planning to start a community college and offer certificate and diploma courses along with degree courses on vocational subjects. Primarily, we are aiming to start vocational subjects like mechanics, agriculture, fisheries and nursing, among others. We will also take care of placements,” he added.
Fr Raj spoke about the college’s further plans of expansion. “By 2017, a communication campus is set to be unveiled at the EM Bypass plot which St Xavier’s College has acquired behind the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI). The campus will offer graduation and postgraduation courses in journalism, mass communications, videography, multimedia and animation. The Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMMRC), which is now at Park Circus and run by the college, will be shifted to the same campus,” he said.
The St Xavier’s College (Calcutta) Alumni Association (SXCCAA) plays a vital role in the college’s expansion process, said Firdausul Hasan, secretary of the association. “Every year, we have a mission and this year it is raising funds to aid expansion. The Rajarhat campus of the college, inaugurated by CM Mamata Banerjee last year, will also host an engineering college and the convention will help us realise Father Felix Raj’s vision 2020, which is our mission for this global convention,” Hasan added.
“This vision will only be possible with the alumni’s help. They have always stood by us. As president of SXCCAA, I am confident that the vision will be realised because of the association’s support,” said Fr Raj.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata> TNN / October 01st, 2014
Durga puja ends
Kolkata :
Durga puja — the biggest festival of Bengal ended on Friday, as this time the festival is of three days according to the almanac and the Bijaya Dashamibeing on Friday many of the pujaorganisers went for immersion of the idols.
However, most of the community pujaorganisers in Bengal will prefer to go for immersion on Sunday and this time there is a ban on immersion on Monday till 8 pm for Id-u- Zoha.
Until Friday evening 127 idols were immersed in river Hooghly. Most of the zamindarfamilies preferred to have the immersion on Friday going by the almanac, as Dashamistarted from Friday and then there were exchange of greetings and SMSstarts pouring in.
The police have made adequate arrangements in the ghats for immersion and special attention is to prevent people from being drowned.
The year long wait for next year’s pujabegins and the community pujaorganisers have started planning for their next year to bag the best trophies being the biggest crowd pullers.
Some of the pujasorganized by Mamata Banerjee’sministers had been the top crowd pullers this year too like previous years and Suruchi Sanghahad been one on top. Suruchi Sanghais headed by housing and youth affairs minister Aroop Biswas. Again the pujaat Chetla Agraniby FrihadHakim, urban development and municipal affairs minister had been another major hit along with the pujaat Naktala Udayan Sanghaby higher education minister Parha Chatterjee.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Debasis Konar, TNN/ October 03rd, 2014
In a first, transgender opens Durga Puja pandal
In a marked departure from the practice of inauguration of Durga Puja by celebrities, cine stars and sportsperson, a transgender had the rare opportunity of inaugurating a community Puja in the city.
Sobuj Sangha, a club located at Haridevpur in the southern fringes of the city, urged the representatives of the Association of Transgender/ Hijras in Bengal to inaugurate a Puja pandal on Tuesday.
Overwhelmed by the invitation, Ranjita Sinha, secretary of the organisation told The Hindu on Wednesday that the efforts of the club in recognising transgenders and eunuchs should be lauded.
“When Durga Pujas are presenting plethora of themes on socially important issues, we are happy that at least one Puja Pandal committee thought about us,” Ms Sinha said, adding that she asked two members of her organisation to go and inaugurate the Puja. There are over 1,700 community Puja pandals in the area under Kolkata police alone.
This is for the first time that Durga Puja organisers have invited members of the transgender community for the inauguration of a pandal, she said, adding that it is the recent landmark Supreme Court judgment that has brought awareness and recognition for the community to some extent.
Ms Sinha also pointed out that transgenders particularly eunuchs were considered important in religious and social occasions but slowly discrimination led to the community being excluded from such events.
“For the Hindus there are references in the mythology about the significance of eunuchs; the Muslims also consider their presence and blessings of considerable importance,” she said.
Despite the encouragement they may have received from this event, the members of the transgender community feel that a lot more concerning the community and its rights need to be addressed.
“A few months ago the West Bengal Government had proposed to set up a Transgender Welfare Board but there has been practically no follow-up on this,” Ms Sinha added.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Shiv Sahay Singh / Kolkata – October 02nd, 2014
Photo finish for Sharod Srestho
Kolkata :
The day many were waiting for has finally arrived. The list of winners of the Poorav’s Commando Energy Drink presents Times Sharod Srestho has been announced. Pallisree Ultadanga, Adarsha Pally Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee and Chetla Agrani Club have bagged the honours for Shrestho Pujo while Jodhpur Park 95 Pally Sarbojanin Durgotab Committee, Alipore Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee and Chetla Agrani Club have walked away with the awards for Shrestho Protima.
Sharod Srestho is a novel contest organized by The Times of India as part of its bouquet of events to celebrate Durga Puja. The eight edition of this contest was a great success with a number of participants winning awards. The initiative was supported by Kolkata Police and organized with realty partner GreenTechCity and jewellery partner Sawansukha Designers Jewellers in association with National Insurance Company Ltd and LIC and co-sponsored by LIC Housing Finance Ltd, Wild Stone and Whirlpool.
This year, the Shrestho Aloksojja award went to Dumdum Park Bharat Chakra Puja Committee. This Puja committee also bagged the Shrestho Bhavna award. The Shera Alankar award by Sawansukha was won by Jodhpur Park 95 Pally Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee. The Alipore Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee was declared runners-up while Pallisree Ultadanga stood a close third. This year, two new categories were introduced. While the Shrestho Music award went to Jodhpur Park 95 Pally Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee, the Shrestho Chomok award was won by Alipore Sarbojanin Durgotsab. Only trophies were awarded in these two categories.
The objective of the competition was to present a unique puja experience while choosing and awarding the best pujas based on a number of parameters. Initially, professors from art colleges did a preliminary round of judging and some of the pujas were shortlisted. Then a panel of celebrity judges visited the pandals and rated them on the decoration, lighting, and other aspects.
This year, the celebrity judges included actors Paoli Dam, Rajatava Dutta, Abir Chatterjee, Konineeca Banerjee and Saheb Bhattacharrya; photographer Indranil Mukherjee; Soumitro of Bhoomi; makeup artist Annirudha Chakladar; TV artists Priyanka Pal and Sonalee Ganguly; music director Raja Narayan Deb and artist Pradip Maitra.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / October 01st, 2014
Heroic turban to be on display at Victoria
Maharaja Nandakumar was hanged by the British 240 years ago
: With his head held high, he faced the wrath of the mighty British Raj when he raised allegations of corruption against India’s first Governor General Warren Hastings. Now, more than 240 years after Maharaja Nandakumar was hanged in 1775, the turban that adorned his head will be put on display at the Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata.
Some historians have described the hanging of Maharaja Nandakumar, primarily a revenue officer under the Nawab of Bengal, as one of the first ‘judicial murders’ in the country.
“Decorated with a straight zari ribbon, light brown and cream in colour, the turban was purchased by the Art Purchase Committee of the Victoria Memorial Hall in 1984 from Gauri Shankar Roy of Murshidabad,” Jayanta Sengupta, Secretary and Curator of Victoria Memorial Hall told The Hindu.
This rare textile artefact will be put up on display in October, VMH authorities said.
With an aim to preserve the turban and other textile artefacts, in December 2013, the VMH had organised an in-house workshop in which international textile conservation expert Jamie Lightfoot had participated.
Although, Nandakumar had assisted the British during the Battle of Plassey (1757), he generally was hostile to the British, historians have said.
It was in 1775, a year after Warren Hastings became Governor General of India that Nandakumar accused him of having accepted bribes from the nawab and others. However, Nandakumar himself was in turn accused by Hastings of conspiring to coerce a third party to make the bribery accusation against him.
This charge against the revenue collector was soon dismissed, but in an unrelated case an accusation of forgery was brought against him. Despite the fact that the person who had levelled the charges against him was an Indian, Nandakumar’s case was judged under British laws where forgery was a capital punishment. A newly established British court at Kolkata sentenced him to death.
“Maharaja Nandakumar was publicly hanged on the banks of the Hooghly at Kidderpur at a place known as Collie Bajar,” Sankar Kumar Nath, who has worked extensively on the history of Calcutta told the Hindu.
Pointing out that Sir Elijah Impey, the presiding judge who imposed the death sentence on Nandakumar, was a close friend of Warren Hastings, Dr Nath, an oncologist by training, said that eminent statesmen like Edmund Burke and Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay had described Nandakumar’s hanging as a ‘judicial murder’. Dr Nath also pointed out that the turban is an artefact of great significance as Nandakumar’s story can actually be called one of the early acts of rebellion against the British rule, and heralded one of the most important periods of British history in India.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Shiv Sahay Singh / Kolkata – September 29th, 2014