Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Kolkata couple’s ‘Labour of Love’ on way to Venice Film Festival

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion

Kolkata :

A film made by a couple from Salt Lake is on its way to the prestigious Venice Film Festival in the next couple of months.

The film, ‘Asha Jaoar Majhe’ (Labour of Love), is devoid of dialogues, though thoughts are communicated through expressions and music. “It’s a positive, simple, easy-going film on love. We’ve shown communication without words. I want people to come to see how love can be expressed by two people without having to speak at all,” said director Aditya Vikram Sengupta.

“In the film, the love is expressed through the most mundane things. In life, I have received love in several forms, from my mother, family members… It wasn’t like they pointed out and exhibited every day how much they loved me. But little actions showed me how much thought and care went behind each,” said Sengupta.

The film features actors Ritwick Chakraborty and Basabdutta Chatterjee. It’s in the race for not one but three awards at Venice – Luigi De Laurentiis Award (Lion of the Future (best debut)), Venice Days Jury Award and Venice Days Public Award.

“We haven’t been able to run it in Kolkata yet as films can’t be screened before the festival in order to be eligible. It’s a non- dialogue film as we felt there was no reason for dialogue just to fill up a silent moment,” said his wife Jonaki, who is executive producer and art director.

The couple, currently settled in Mumbai, produce and make ad-films for a living. “Half of the film was shot by Mahindra J Shetty, who was the cinematographer for ‘Udaan’ and ‘Lootera’. The other half was shot by me. The movie was made with a very small production crew of around 10, and on a very low budget,” added Sengupta.

On the cast, he said: “I took many auditions, but couldn’t find the right face for the role. Basabdatta fit in perfectly. She has a very classic look. Ritwik didn’t complain even if I kept calling for retakes. Some shots were taken 20-30 times. I’m grateful to the actors for their patience. Just because it’s a non-dialogue film doesn’t mean it’s a silent film or an art-house film. I think even 15-year-olds, who have some concept of love, will appreciate and enjoy it.”

The film, primarily set in the city, was extensively shot in north Kolkata. “That’s because my characters live in north Kolkata,” Sengupta explained.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / July 28th, 2014

Portraits of a city in motion

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Caleidoscope

(From left) Sanjay, Minu, Preeyam and HP Budhia with (centre) Azim Premji, the chairman of Wipro, at Addlife Caring Minds on Friday. Premji found the centre impressive. “It is an integrated centre that can address multi-faceted issues,” he said. “The team is young, talented and experienced.” He also cut a cake to celebrate his birthday, which falls on July 24. Picture by Rashbehari Das
(From left) Sanjay, Minu, Preeyam and HP Budhia with (centre) Azim Premji, the chairman of Wipro, at Addlife Caring Minds on Friday. Premji found the centre impressive. “It is an integrated centre that can address multi-faceted issues,” he said. “The team is young, talented and experienced.” He also cut a cake to celebrate his birthday, which falls on July 24. Picture by Rashbehari Das

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

Replicas of greatness

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All

Kolkata :

The state government has decided to set up a museum inside the Assembly.
The museum will be the first-of-its-kind where sculptures of various eminent persons of the state who have contributed immensely for the welfare of the nation will be displayed.

A space of around 2,000 sq feet has been identified inside the Assembly where the proposed museum will be set up. It will have an art gallery, too, where works of famous painters, including Jamini Roy, will be displayed.

Sculptures of famous personalities in the Assembly will also be displayed.

The Speaker has already sent a list of names of eminent persons whose sculptures will be displayed inside the museum.

According to the proposed plan, initially 10 to 12 statues of eminent persons will be displayed inside the museum. Replicas made of fibre glass representing various art forms of different states as well as foreign countries will be put up for display inside the museum.

The PWD is in the process of inviting sculptors and artists to discuss which statutes should be placed first.

It may be mentioned that the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) has come up with a plan to set up the first ever wax museum at New Town in Rajarhat .

The museum, being planned on the lines of London’s Madame Tussauds wax museum, will be set up at Rajarhat New Town and a 5,000 sq ft area has been earmarked for the project.

source: http://www.thestatesman.net / The Statesman / Home> Bengal / Statesman News Service / Kolkata – July 25th, 2014

3 Keralites for Mission Palliative Care in Rural West Bengal

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Science & Technology

Kozhikode :

Three Keralite Civil Service officers would soon add a new chapter in palliative care in rural West Bengal, inspired by similar initiative in their home state.

‘Sanjeevani’, an end-of-life care project to be launched in September in the Nadia district of WB, is the brain child of IAS officers P B Salim and Bijin Krishna and Amarnath, an IPS officer. The project has been conceptualised by the Kozhikode based Institute of Palliative Medicine (IPM), the training, research and outreach arm of Pain and Palliative Care Society, which pioneered community volunteering in end-of-life care.

Salim, hailing from Muvattupuzha, is currently working as the District Magistrate of Nadia while Amarnath, a native of Moozhikkal in Kozhikode, is the ASP of South 24 Parganas. Bijin from Meppayur in Kozhikode is the Assistant Collector of Murshidabad district. “Both Amarnath and Salim had associated with IPM years ago. Salim suggested starting a palliative care programme in West Bengal. He along with Amarnath then approached me. Later, Bijin also extended support to the initiative,” said Dr Suresh, director of IPM, which provides technical support for the project.

According to Salim, Sanjeevani is aimed at improving the quality of life of the terminally ill in Nadia.

“The project intends to introduce a new culture of providing care for the bed-ridden patients utilising a network of physicians, nurses and volunteers,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Shafeeq Alingal / July 25th, 2014

Winning formula

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Some 40 actors and film technicians won awards named after Uttam Kumar on Thursday at Nazrul Mancha. “There must be many… who are waiting for an award… . That’s why we started the Bangabhushan… (another award instituted by the government),” Mamata Banerjee told the gathering. Metro presents an abridged list of who got what & why we think they deserve it

Awards1KOLKATA25jul2014
AwardsKOLKATA25jul2014

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / by The Telegraph, Calcutta Bureau / Friday – July 25th, 2014

Film set in Kolkata brothel bags UK honour

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, World Opinion

Kolkata :

Set in Sonagachi, ‘Sold’ — that follows the tale of a child trafficked from Nepal to the city, is directed and produced by Oscar winners and features ‘X-Files’ star Gillian Anderson, David Arquette, Tillotama Shome and Parambrata Chatterjee among others, has won the audience award at a London film festival recently.

This is the first feature film of Jeffrey Dean Brown, whose first short with dialogue, adapted from the book ‘Molly’s Pilgrim’, won the Oscar in 1986. This film is adapted from a book by Patricia McCormick that has been translated into 32 languages. The executive producer of ‘Sold’, Emma Thompson, is a two-time Academy Award winner. Joint Overdose, the film firm headed by Kolkata filmmaker Qaushiq aka Q, was the line producer. “We had met and the producers were well-versed with our earlier works. Our job was to ensure everything went smoothly during the production and shoot. The film will definitely hit the screens in India by next year,” said Q.

In the film, lead character Lakshmi’s stepfather accepts an advance for her to work as a domestic servant in Kolkata, and she becomes obliged to work off the debt. Lakshmi goes willingly, believing she will work and earn enough money to buy her mother a tin roof. But when Lakshmi arrives in Kolkata, she is handed over to Mumtaz, a ‘madam’ who presides over a brothel called Happiness House. Brown pointed out that ‘Shawshank Redemption’ is structurally similar to ‘Sold’. “Mumtaz exploits her prisoners like the warden did in ‘Shawshank’. In both the films, you know the hero is planning an escape, but you’re not sure how and this keeps you watching,” he said.

Asked about if he had any reservations about the content and depiction of Kolkata’s dark underbelly, Q said: “It’s not a negative set-up at all. It’s time for us to face the facts. And we were anyway interested in the film for the social message and its outreach.” His colleague in Overdose, Tanaji Dasgupta, not only has a role in the film but is also credited as a line producer.

“I remember visiting Sonagachi for the first time, seeing hundreds of young girls and women selling themselves on the streets. It was overwhelming. When I saw a girl who had just been rescued from a brothel, I truly understood the suffering these kids go through. She couldn’t look anyone in the eye; she looked shell-shocked, like someone taken from a battlefield who had lost her entire family. Girls like her are put on suicide watch for three months after being rescued. They don’t trust anyone; they’re like frightened animals. They try to escape, they cut themselves and have been known to hang themselves if not watched. The other survivors gradually make them feel at home and teach them to trust again. It was seeing these things with our own eyes that motivated us to make the film even more, so we could show the world what is happening,” said Brown.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / by Shounak Ghosal / July 19th, 2014

A cool musical ‘movement’ takes birth

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, World Opinion

Kolkata :

Who said classical music was boring? It could be cool, too. Say hello to supergroup ‘Classicool’, a conglomeration of second- or third-generation musical talents including sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee, drummer Gino Banks, son of Louiz Banks, tabla player Anubrata Chatterjee, son of Pt Anindo Chatterjee, flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, nephew of Hariprasad Chaurasia, and Amaan Ali Khan, son of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, among others. Their mantra: Classical is cool.

It is to be noted that all of these collaborators have direct or indirect links with Kolkata. Louiz was ‘discovered’ by R D Burman during a concert at Park Street, Hariprasad Chaurasia speaks Bengali as fluently as anyone in the city. The supergroup, debuting in Mumbai on July 31, is aching to put up a show in Kolkata, the ‘Mecca of music’.

The musicians, though, loathe to call it a ‘band’ and prefer to call it a “movement”. The supergroup also has vocalist Suchismita Das, who has collaborated with A R Rahman, and city guitarist Sanjay Das. The idea to push classical music to GenY came to life with Purbayan tying up with music portal Qyuki.com, which is headed by A R Rahman, filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor and Samir Bangara, who is the co-founder and MD of the portal.

“The movement aims to make classical music more relevant to the youth. It’s only appropriate that so many musicians with a Bengal connect are on board. We are waiting eagerly to be able to stage a show in the city,” said Bangara.

“In an initiative like this, it’s only natural that everyone would have a Bengal connection. This project is distinctly Kolkata-driven, as you can’t avoid the city when it comes to classical music,” said Anubrata. “Classical music must be regenerated for the youth and they must be mobilized. Classicool retains original ragas and presents them in a modern soundscape using the bass and drums as accompaniment. In 3- to 5-minute capsules, we have presented original content in a new context. People, especially youngsters, have a lower attention span these days. Therefore, classical music needs to be fed in shorter doses of a few minutes in a song-like format. Also, these youngsters are used to a certain kind of bass-drum soundscape which they think is cool. They can also identify with certain visuals. Classicool presents classical music in a user-friendly format so that the sanctity of the raga is preserved without distancing or intimidating the listener,” said Purbayan.

With all the musicians established in their classical worlds and Gino being the only ‘non-classical’ player, does it make him feel the odd one out? “Not at all. Just because I play the drums doesn’t mean the character of the music has changed. The sound, a little. I have knowledge about classical music and that helps me, definitely,” said Gino.

“I’m very happy with the Classicool project. In my time, I was classic as well as cool,” Louiz laughed out loud. “But this movement is a welcome boost to the evolution of music. The purist may not agree. But I realized it 30 years ago when I ventured into classical and merged it with jazz,” said the veteran pianist.

“This is the best of both worlds. This is the future of music. And during my Kolkata days, I never found a more knowledgeable, appreciative audience. I’m very happy that Gino has teamed up with a bunch of extremely talented musicians with distinct Kolkata connections,” he added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / July 22nd, 2014

Couple on clue chase track photo sites

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion

PhotosBengalKOLKATA21jul2014

The photographer and artist couple Alan Teller and Jerri Zbiral have unearthed a wealth of stories while chasing clues to identify the places in photographs of Bengal taken by an unknown American in 1945.

“Astonishing” was how the American couple described their weeklong sleuthing across Kharagpur, Salua and Pingla in West Midnapore, helped by two IIT Kharagpur students, Subhajyoti Ghosh and Siddharth Agarwal.

Metro had on February 26 reported on Alan and Jerri’s research — funded by Alan’s 2013 Fulbright-Nehru senior scholarship — into the background of a bunch of black-and-white photographs found in a box they had picked up for $20 at an estate sale in Chicago.

In the box were photographs of six temples, three of which the couple have located in Kharagpur — Balaji, Kali and Nandeswar. One they had traced three years ago. “The Nandeswar temple has a new portico which destroys the façade’s splendour,” said Jerri.

The couple have identified the man standing beside the Balaji temple in one of the photographs. “He was A. Narayan Swamy Naidu, the priest of the Balaji temple. He had founded the temple in 1935. We met his great-grandson Raju Naidu and daughter-in-law Padmavati, who is over 80 now. She became emotional when presented with a copy of our 1945 photograph,” said Jerri.

A movie theatre in one of the photographs has been identified as Bombay cinema in the railway town. Residents who were shown two photographs of markets suggested that one is the sprawling Golbazar in the heart of the town and other is located in Salboni, around 50km from Kharagpur.

Alan and Jerri have learned that the photographer was attached to a regiment of American soldiers stationed in Salua — around 5km from Kharagpur — which functioned as an airbase during World War II. Since 1949, Salua has been the headquarters of the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR). Gorkha personnel of the EFR helped the couple identify a laundry, a wall and a pond seen in some of the pictures.

“We have come to know that at the Salua base African-American soldiers were housed outside the main camp, segregated from the whites. That is not surprising as the US army wasn’t integrated till the 1950s. What is surprising was that the black soldiers were housed next to the munition storage areas. So if the Japanese bombed the area, wouldn’t they be the first to suffer a direct hit?” asked Alan.

“The whole issue of American presence in Kharagpur is shrouded in mystery,” he said. The couple have come across brief mention of their presence in documents at the Nehru Museum of Science and Technology, housed in a sprawling Raj-era building where the country’s oldest Indian Institute of Technology was inaugurated in 1951.

Under the British rule, the building had served as a jail for political prisoners — Hijli Detention Camp — and later as the command post of the American airbases in the region.

“We know that the Americans were doing reconnaissance work anticipating a Japanese land invasion but are uncertain about some details relevant to our search, such as why our photographer left his base and wandered around clicking all those photos of village life and temples and people with what was then a cumbersome camera. India’s role in World War II is still foggy and our search will perhaps clear up some areas. We’re seeking permission to gain access to the interior of the Salua base,” said Alan.

The couple will submit an application to the American authorities under the Freedom of Information Act for the release of documents related to the Hijli Detention Camp/Command Post and the Salua base, so they could draw a clearer picture of the photographer.

The couple’s last stop in their search was Naya village in Pingla (50km from Kharagpur), where they commissioned two jorano pats (narrative story scrolls unfurled to the accompaniment of songs) by patua Swarna Chitrakar, based on the 1945 pictures. “She has constructed a personal narrative based on a dozen or so photographs,”said Jerri.

The couple will deliver a lecture on the photographs and their search for the locations at the Victoria Memorial Hall at 5.30pm on Monday.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / by Sebanti Sarkar / Monday – March 03rd, 2014

Vibrant Rock offers a rare peek into stone sculptures in Bengal

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All

The first-ever catalogue of stone sculptures collected from different parts of West Bengal, Bihar, and parts of Bangladesh belonging to Brahmanical, Buddhist, and Jain pantheon has been published by Directorate of Archaeology and Museum, Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal.

VibrantRockBENGAL20jul2014

Archaeologists say the first-ever catalogue of historical stone sculptures in the region titled Vibrant Rock contains a comprehensive details of 444 stone sculptures housed in the State Archaeological Museum at Behala in the southern parts of the city, dated between the sixth and 19th century AD.

Most of the stone sculptures belong to Pala-Sena period. However, the unique piece highlighted in this catalogue is a sculpture dating to the 19th century: the specimen is a stone plaque depicting in six different panels the story of birth of Lord Krishna. In each of the panels, there are depictions of the parturition rooms (labour room) in the palaces of Kansa and Nanda. The plaque is accompanied with an inscription in Sanskrit.

Another talked about is the image of Surya, discovered from Mahisantosh in Naogaon district of Bangladesh. The exquisitely sculpted piece of the ninth century is from the time of Pala King Mahendrapala.

“Through Vibrant Rock we have tried to introduce a major collection of sculptures of the region in form of a catalogue. The book offers not only iconography and stylistic affiliation of the sculptures but also an array of information about find spots, modes of acquisition, rock type, and inscriptional detail,” Guatam Sengupta, former director general of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and author of the book, said.

The book also deals with a wide range of rocks used in making these historical sculptures such as coarse-grained granite gneiss, ultramafic rock, ballast, chlorite schist, mica, and sandstone.

Sharmila Saha, the co-author of the book, said that an analysis of the sculptures provided in the book will prove useful to identify the influence of regional schools of aesthetics on the broad South Asian Art.

“Not only academicians like archaeologists and historians but laymen interested in ancient Indian heritage are laying their hands on the books,” Rajat Sanyal, an archaeologist of University of Calcutta, said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Shiv Sahay Singh / Kolkata – July 20th, 2014

Jadavpur University ties up with Intach over Writers’ restoration

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links / Pre-Independence

Kolkata :

Jadavpur University has approached the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage for expert guidance in the mammoth restoration project that it has undertaken over Writers’ Buildings – the 236 year old seat of the state secretariat. At the moment JU architects are conducting a detailed survey on the condition of the building, preparing a layout of how the restoration process would progress and interiors would be re-organized once the work is over.

Objections were reportedly raised by the West Bengal Heritage Commission over the state PWD department’s decision to hand over the responsibility of restoration to JU and IIEST (formerly Besu) jointly. The Commission felt that a building of the rare stature of Writers’ Buildings should be handled by an agency whose expertise lies in restoring heritage institutions. The Commission felt that the architecture departments of neither JU nor IIEST had the required experience. However, belying such doubts the state PWD has gone ahead with its decision and has not interrupted the ongoing survey work that is being conducted by JU at the premises.

Intach has not only been formally invited by JU, talks have also happened between the national level heritage conservation agency and the PWD authorities over ways in which Intach would bring in its expertise in overseeing the project right from the drawing and testing stage now and also later during the execution. Most departments of the state government shifted out of Writers’ Buildings last October with the state secretariat shifted to Nabanna, so that the heritage building at Dalhousie can be restored. However, execution is yet to happen and the delay has raised several eyebrows.

“We must remember that Writer’s is no ordinary building and execution of the plan cannot happen immediately. We are conducting a series of tests on the structural status of the different portions of the building and the strength of its foundation. Once execution starts cracks should not develop in the portions that are relatively weak. Again, the building as we see it today, was not built all together; portions were added with time. Naturally the health of the building will also be somewhat heterogeneous,” said Madhumita Roy, head of JU’s architecture department, who is leading the project. She feels that the project report on how execution should be ready for submission to the state government by November. Once the state government approves it, execution should start immediately.

Confirming that she has tagged Intach in the project, Roy said, “I have closely followed the work that Intach has done in restoring institutional heritage e.g. Gwalior Monument, Princep Ghat, St John’s Church and Lalgola correctional home. I think it will be able to guide us well both on the methodology and progress.”

Intach state convenor, GM Kapur said that the main problem with Writers’ restoration is lack of original drawings which could guide the restoration team. “I am sure that the original drawings would exist in what was then known as the India Office library, a part of the British Library. We will write to them to see if they exist and then organize for copies so that they can be consulted.”

PWD officials said that JU experts are conducting the survey and the condition of the building. “Suggestions are invited from any consultancy or architectural firms as to how the restoration work could take place. All the suggestions will be discussed with the heritage commission following which work order of the actual work will be issued,” said a PWD official. Earlier, the demolition work of the extended portions was supposed top start off from this month.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey, TNN / July 10th, 2014