A picture is rightly worth a 1000 words. And that’s what Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre is doing with some interesting images from the past.
Armed with smartphones which are loaded with filters aplenty, everyone today has become an ace photographer. So if one revisits the past with its film rolls and their limited number of exposures, is there still room for to preserve history and bring alive stories? And is there any value in such antique and old photographs anymore?
Through an extensive repository of images from the Bhuvan Kumari Devi Archives, an exhibition at the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, questions this very nuance recreating the visuals from the life of a ruler who hailed from Nepal in the early 20th century and lived in India. The exhibition, Nirvasanama: Portraits of a Life in Exile Through Changing Viewfinders, is curated by Aditya Arya in collaboration with Isha Singh Sawhney. It exhibits 150 vintage cameras by The Museo Camera —a vintage camera museum — and turn-of-the-century images from the Bhuvan Kumari Devi Archives showcasing the life of exile of Dev Shumsher Singh Rana, a liberal ruler of Nepal, who was usurped by his own brothers.
Sawhney, the great-great-granddaughter of Rana, tells us about how she found the lost treasure.
“They were lying at my house in Dehradun, in the attic-like store for many decades. When my mother attempted a mammoth clean-up, out came these photos. We have grown up looking at these images and wondering about the people and stories behind them. I used to wonder what kind of era and lifestyle it would have had been. After some time, we pulled them out and decided to do something before they completely decayed as they were getting destroyed by mice and dust,” she said.
As you take a walk around the gallery, these unseen and archaic photographs spread across the hall can make you visualise the stories behind them.
Isha narrates what these photographs depict, “The photographs talk about Rana’s children living in Mussourie, at the Fairlawn Palace, in the 1920s and 30s, and a few of them from before 1900s to 1910 as well. This is conceptualised to make people understand the history of who Shumsher Singh Rana was, why did he come to India? What was his exile about? The focus of the story is on the things in their life and his siblings living in Mussourie but the story is contextualised around him.”
Isha believes that “there is always a need to showcase old things because they are precious and could get lost with time. It’s a glimpse into the past that none of us witnessed or experienced. It’s pretty invaluable in that sense.”
She finds it interesting to see them outside, “since these images, photos and art pieces, mostly stay in people’s living rooms, nobody gets to see them other than the those who own them and visit their homes. Taking them out and showing them to the public is a kind of service and a way to give it back to the people and bring them alive again.”
But why is it called the Bhuvan Kumari Devi Archives? Isha has an answer. They decided to “call this collection as ‘Bhuvan Kumari Devi Archives’ since she is the most important person with whom this collection is linked. She was the first collector/saver of these images. That is why they are named after her because a lot of it is a documentation of her life as well.”
Often people’s lives remain a mystery unless there is a bunch of unseen photographs trying hard to narrate something, but often nobody is present to hear them out or comprehend. The same was the case with Isha’s family, who did manage to find out some stories.
She says, “We have heard many stories from our family members but I purposely chose not to bring out those anecdotes and stories as we wanted the focus to be on the photographs in the exhibition. We found out a little bit of political history of Rana by reading books and old papers.”
She explains the significance of the archive and the importance of a good knowledge of history which forms the core of a responsible and socially-aware civilisation. “It’s also important for me since I want people to look at it and visualise about the beautiful era and let them imagine the time and weave their own stories. We didn’t want to put any labels. Maybe that is the next phase. Currently, I just want to reflect on the importance of such antique pictures and real-time anecdotes. They need to know about what existed and differentiate between then and today.”
Arya, who has been a photography afficianado and loves family archives, has always been intrigued by old equipments, which is also reflected in the exhibition.
He showcases vintage cameras which are placed in a studio of sorts and the way they during the time when there were no portable cameras.
“I’m always trying to collect the equipment and cameras which were used earlier to make people understand what kind of a setup was done to shoot then. It’s not only about images since each image is multi-layered with what you see and what you don’t see. You get to see the photographs but not the technology behind it. Hence, there are studios that show how the image was captured then,” he said.
He reveals about the title of the exhibition. Firstly, it was because of the Nepali significance. Secondly, “it was aimed at looking at photography through many angles. Earlier, there were viewfinders in cameras through which the cameraperson would pre-visualise the images in his mind and see the subject through it. But today, there are no viewfinders and one can see the images immediately after clicking them. Today, people are just randomly capturing. However, these old images were created and with them they even created history. Initially, photography was all about pre-visualisation and detailing, unlike today.”
The exhibition visually studies anthropology, by giving us a peep into the life of the early 20th century and spins a narrative around the dressing sense, jewellery and costumes, entertainment customs, objects and stories of yore bringing to life long-lost and forgotten idiosyncrasies and anecdotes.
Writer: Chahak Mittal
Source: The Pioneer
Director Reema Kagti gets candid about how was her experience of making a sports film for the first time!
Biopics, historical events, sports and social issues — Gold, Reema Kagti’s latest outing combines all that is trending in Bollywood. The movie is centered around an important event in India’s sports history. The director, who has made hit films before, believes that bringing historical events to people’s conscience makes the culture richer and people aware of their roots. With hits like Talaash,Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd which she directed and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Dil Dhadakne Do which she scripted with Zoya Akhtar, Reema has successfully left a mark in the audience’s heart.
When asked about what inspired a sports film since that is a genre which she never played with, Reema revealed how the story moved her. “A friend of mind, Ankur Tiwari, had told me about the 1948 Olympic field hockey match and I researched about it. I found there was a young Bengali assistant manager of the Indian Hockey squad during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, who felt really demotivated and had pulled out the Indian National Congress flag to inspire the players and was later banned for this. He went on to become one of the most influential administrators and was also the manager 12 years later, for the 1948 team. When I found out about the locker-room scene in Berlin, I knew and strongly felt that I have to make this into a film. I was so inspired by the story. I really wanted to bring it out and narrate it to the people.”
The film talks about the first gold medal that India won as an independent nation and many other stories that many would not be aware about.
How did she narrow down on Akshay Kumar and Mouni Roy to play the leads? “Akshay is a terrific actor hence we decided to go with him. Also, it was because of his physicality which would perfectly work for the character, Tapan Das. I have to thank my casting director Nandini Shrikent, who chose Mouni. She did a terrific job,” said she.
Reema, who is “extremely happy” with the success of the film, which has become the third highest opener of 2018 and the best opener for Akshay Kumar, said, “It feels so good when you work on something sincerely and people like it.”
The film shows people’s way of living and culture during that era. One would wonder how challenging it would have been for the director to create a scene of that era, which was so different from contemporary times. She revealed, “The scale to recreate Olympics and the era was indeed a challenge. But with my great crew, we worked it out, revising and changing. We had researched the period and figured out the basic look which I shared with the production and set designers, and then they put their own ideas to design it better.”
She added, “However, the matches were definitely the most challenging. We were shooting them in Europe and the weather there is extremely unpredictable as it literally changes every 10-15 minutes making the shoot a nightmare.”
There have been questions about what led to this transition from rom-com film like Honeymoon Travels, to a sports film, she said that it is all about what inspires you, “There was no transition as such. It’s a germ of an idea that pulls you in. The idea of that gentleman who pulled out the flag hooked me. So it is just the trigger of an idea.”
Even though the film brings forward the life story of Tapan Das, Reema refused to call it a biopic, rather it is “a fictional retelling of what happened.”
Writer: Chahak Mittal
Source: The Pioneer
Raghava KK and Karthik Kalyanaraman – exploring the possibilities of enhancing art through technology. Nature Morte, their art show, is where they showcase their talent.
Brothers, Raghava KK and Karthik Kalyanaraman, one a multidisciplinary artist, TED speaker, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and TED curator and another a PHD in Econometrics from Harvard University, were disgruntled with the past-facing nature of most art theory. So they set out to write a thesis about a global aesthetic for the art of the future, influenced by Indian philosophical resources. And thus emerged their exhibition Nature Morte.
“The show we are doing is part of this effort in trying to get more artists engaged with issues of the future rather than allowing the design of our future to follow the utilitarian logic of technologists and to engage the public in issues of developing technology so that we are not simply passive consumers shaped by utilitarian logic,” said the curators.
What are the shifts in art processes that you foresee with Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) involvement?
Firstly, the traditional arts are not going to die out because of AI. This art movement is barely two years old, so it is in its infancy in terms of what it can achieve. We can expect it to become a full-fledged genre like lens-based art. Photography had an indirect but enormous impact on painting. Suddenly, the aim to paint realistically from nature and the importance of linear perspectival composition seemed not so compelling since the camera could do those better, or at least more obviously, than painting. This was the birth of Impressionism, of abstraction, of everything we know as contemporary art. We can expect something similar with AI. As it starts getting good at producing compelling aesthetic images that are also conceptually rich, humans have to start asking what art can humans make? What can we focus on? What will distinguish the mark of the human in art of the future? One way forward at least is provided by the AI artists: work with the machines. Embrace being a cyborg. We have other theories how art can respond, which involve a focus on the undertheorised ethical dimension of art, but that’s for another time.
How does an AI make art? Can an AI artist be called an artist?
There are two kinds of AI — the old and the new. The old style is the one from the 1980s, where symbolic manipulation also known as knowledge representation used rules and logic and the new style AI, which took off in 2000s, uses statistics, an example of which is neural networks (NN). The new AI learns how to do some task by observing the task being successfully performed multiple times. These examples are called the training set. In AI art, what the NN is essentially doing is learning what a visual style or an object is by looking at lots and lots of examples of it. Once it has done that, it is able then to create an image or a tune that it has never before experienced simply by the fact that it’s formed its own idea of what an image or a tune is from the examples it has seen. So the human artists’ role is mainly to monitor how much generalisation an AI uses learning its task and to curate the examples it sees. It is not to provide any information about art or style or line or composition or what have you.
Certainly, they can be called artists, if being one is to make images that humans respond to. But also we have to remember that the human hasn’t disappeared from the process. That’s why we say creativity is distributed across human and machine.
What are the criteria that you considered when curating the exhibition?
The field is very young, just a few years old. The main AI tool called GAN was only available a few years ago commercially. So we found it not that hard to practically interview the entire community. We reached deep into our networks and came up with a list of 40 international artists to consider. A lot of them did not actually fit our intention of curating art where the actual final artwork was made by AI. Of these we interviewed around 15 in the first round and had a further second round of interviews to come up with our final list of seven artists.
There are scientists and academics using the same technology to create images. However, we found they were mainly focused on training AI to make interesting patterns and we decided that their work lacked a certain conceptual richness. We ended up focusing on artists alone.We wanted a representative selection, we have seven artists who are from or have studied in seven different countries. Two of them are recognised media artists who have been with the AI art movement from the beginning (Memo Akten and Mario Klingemann) and others represent a younger generation. We also wanted to showcase a variety of media (AI generated sound, video, images) and a variety of algorithms used (CNN, GAN, cGAN, RNN, PPGN and so on).
What were the challenges during the creation process?
It was very challenging to curate a fully international exhibition in such a pioneering space. We first had to understand the field and that involved not just understanding the technology but also the technical details that went into it to make sure we were really finding the true innovators. Other than that it was a really enjoyable experience
What sets AI artists apart from traditional artists?
The practice of the human artist working with AI is fascinating. Because they have to keep a traditional aesthetic eye on the output they are still working like traditional artists. However a lot of the practice is also that of a data analyst and a computer programmer. So what you see is a confluence of logical practice of the scientist and the creative practice of the traditional artist.
Writer: Asmita Sarkar
Source: The Pioneer
Bazzar, an international visual spectacle with local shades, will open to the public at BKC in November. Thirty four years since its inception and after touring 450 cities in 60 countries and entertaining an estimated 190 million spectators, Cirque du Soleil finally arrives in India to Mumbai and Delhi specifically. He speaks to Daniel Lamarre, President and CEO of the group internationally renowned for its jaw-dropping acrobatic feats and visual spectacle
to explore what the Indian audience should expect from this whimsical one-of-a-kind universe
Imagine a stage full of acrobats and colours where every seat gives the best view since the stage is 360 degree — vibrant and humongous. To add on, it also accommodates 1500 guests, and comes with surprises every now and then. Still wondering what it could be?
It is the Cirque Du Soleil, a show with an unmatched level of energy, colours, music, actors and artists, acrobats, and dancers. The Canadian theatrical company will soon showcase its work for the first time in India from November to December. The show is an amalgam of cultures and artistes from different nations, bringing a cast and crew of 62 people from 13 different countries. They will be carrying 700 tonnes of equipment via 25 sea containers, leaving no stone unturned.
Director Susan Gaudreau’s new show will be called Bazaar. She reveals why it’s named after a commonly-used Indian term and how it finds its significance in being a marketplace of merriment and aficionados, “Bazaar is an Indian term but a universal term too. We use the same word in English just as it has been discovered in many other foreign languages. It fits the title as it is based on the gathering of artists, colours, and different emotions. It is full of energy and variety, just like a marketplace.”
The show pushes away the conventionality of circus and clowns, features a range of high-level acrobatics and circus acts, including duo trapeze, teeterboard, duo roller skater, slackline, hula hoop, acrobatic bike, contortion, and many others. “We will also introduce two acts which have never been performed at the Cirque — the duo malcolm act and hair hanging with an aerial rope,” says Susan.
Blending visual and performance art doesn’t leave a mark in people’s heart unless they are worked upon and revised regularly. “We, at Cirque, as well”, as Susan says, “are curious and always challenging ourselves to break open new ideas, try new technology, and push the edge of acrobatics. There’s always a step ahead. Through these 30 years, we just kept pushing.”
Daniel Lamarre, president and CEO of the entertainment group, believes that even though the world seems to be paused at digital spaces, there is still room for live and physical performances. He says, “In today’s world, a trend and counter-trend co-exist. So, the trend goes with the new media and technology including virtual reality and art. We might in the coming times use some technology for our acts. However, the counter-trend is that people are also dying to see live performances, which is what Cirque is about. As much as people are eager to understand new technologies, they also want live entertainment which can deliver emotions and passion live. This is why, 34 years later, we have technology surrounding the humans.”
“CDS has reinvented circus,” quoted the a magazine once. However, the question is, what goes into transforming a written play into a stage performance?
A drama’s aesthetic and literary merit belongs to the director’s portrayal more than the screenwriter’s. “It’s a whole team of artists and designers. The pre-production process before we go into the creation is huge. We have an incredible support of costume designers and sound designers. It starts from a single spark of an idea and from there it’s a gathering of great collaborative breeds of mind. We also have live music composers who write original material for the singers. We have choreographers, photographers, acrobatic conceptors and trainers. It’s a team of very passionate people, because of whom the written words transform into a display of such magnificent arts. They all work extremely hard and put their heart into the production,” says Susan.
Her directions, as she tells, are not influenced by Vaudeville or any carnival genre. “I was inspired by the CDS, the idea of the show was born out of the roots of the company. It’s not vaudeville, musical theatre, or burlesque, it’s just CDS, which is a genre in itself.”
One cannot be the global leader in entertainment “unless one succeeds in displaying itself in an important country like India, so I am trying to spend more time in India to be immersed in this country with such a rich culture,” Daniel enthusiastically explains.
While Daniel is delighted to have found two artists from India for the show, who “are not only going to perform in India, but across the globe, travelling with us for the next few years” he also excitedly reveals the uniqueness and newness that comes with Bazaar. “It’s an immersive experience with a 360-degree stage, where no matter wherever you’re seated in” in what is called “the big tent, everybody can closely watch the performers.”
Just as the act showcases an eclectic mix of creativity and a joyful troupe creating awe-inspiring spectacle, it also combines originality and freshness, reinventing the art.
Daniel shares his vision, “I had dreamt about creating a surreal world where diversities could be merged, and here I have created a stage for performers from across the globe. My team includes not only Americans or Canadians, but also French, Russian, Chinese, and Indians, and many more. I am spoilt with cultures, I am living all of them.”
Writer: Chahak Mittal
Courtesy: The Pioneer
The famous Bollywood actress Vaani Kapoor considers herself as a sensible and decent dresser but she says never follow any fashion trend.
“I have never followed fashion in particular, but I am aware of what is trending and what is not trending,” Vaani said. “I make sure I am not in my night suit. That is what I care about. But I am a decent dresser,” she added. The actress was happy to be part of a recent show, through which they offer a chance to the customer to pick everything they need for a wedding.
‘I have said it earlier and I will say it now, I am not looking out to make art. I want to make quality entertainment which is relatable and absorbing. The medium does not make a difference. For me, the story does a trick.’
— Shashanka Ghosh
Actress Sujata Kumar, remembered for playing late veteran actress Sridevi’s sibling in the film English Vinglish passed away due to cancer, said her sister and actress-singer, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi. Suchitra tweeted, “Our beloved Sujata Kumar has passed away and moved on to a better place leaving us with an unimaginable void. She left us at 11.26pm. Life can never be the same again.” Sujata has worked in films like Raanjhanaa and Salaam-E-Ishq.
Lana Del Rey defends Israel gig
As singer Lana Del Rey’s announcement of her first performance in Israel elicited a backlash, she defended her decision saying she believes music is universal and is a tool to bring people together. The singer has been added as a headliner for the inaugural Meteor Festival, set to take place at Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan, outside of Tiberias in the upper Galilee region of Israel. The 33-year-old took to her Twitter account and wrote: “I believe music is universal and should be used to bring us together. Performing in Tel Aviv is not a political statement or a commitment to the politics there just like singing here in California doesn’t mean my views are in alignment with my current government’s opinions or sometimes inhuman actions.”
Writer: Pioneer
Courtesy: The Pioneer
The comedian who recently won Comicstaan – Nishant Suri, speaks to the reporter Asmita Sarkar about his journey so far. He said, “My Life has changed completely after the show”.
Can punchlines and comic timing be learnt? Nishant Suri, the winner of the first season of Amazon Prime Video’s Comicstorian which gave a platform to stand-up comedians who were trying to make it in the niche community thinks that he became a better, confident comic through the process. So he takes home Rs 10 lakh along with a plethora of lessons.
“Subconsciously, I’m incorporating the different genres that we performed on the show. I am more comfortable on stage now despite having done this for a few years before the show happened. I can now talk about everything that I wanted to talk about. My whole perspective about comedy has changed through the show,” he said, adding that Biswa Kalyan Rath aka Biswa mast aadmi was his favourite mentor.
“All of them are good. He was my favourite because he was the first mentor and we didn’t know what to expect. He’s a nice guy. We didn’t know any of them before so we didn’t expect them to be interested in our performance but they were and that was really motivating,” he said.
The fame from the show has been a pleasant surprise for the comic, who says that people come up to him and tell him the punchlines that they loved the most. “It feels good to be recognised,” he said. The path to victory, however, has not been very smooth. He started off as an engineer who studied at BITS Pilani, Goa, then worked at a bank for three years by the end of which he just wanted to move on from the corporate setting. To fund his stand-up career, he started off as a wedding photographer.
Tanmay Bhat, the famed comic from the AIB, praised Suri for his endurance. While Suri had not heard or read the statement, he believed that he was complimented for his consistency. “I got better as the show progressed,” he said.
The format, though like a reality show, didn’t force the contestants to be cutthroat. “The show wasn’t very competitive compared to other reality shows on TV. People were cooperating with each other to get better. In our head, we knew that all of us have to be good for the show to work well. If five people are good and five are not doing well, the overall quality goes down and people are not going to watch. Comedy is a small community and we all struggled together. It was like a brotherhood-sisterhood but there was an element of competition but all in good nature. There was no negativity,” he added. The first runner-up, Rahul Dua and Suri had been friends for years as they were performing in the same circuit in Delhi.
The comics had initially sent four-five minute videos based on which they were chosen for an interview round followed by live performances. Suri and Dua made the cut from Delhi. They were judged by Bhat and Kanan Gill.
After attending workshops in various kinds of comedies, like observational, impromptu, anecdotal, among others, he said that his favourite is the traditional kind where observational and anecdotal are performed.
Suri is not working on an hour-long material to go on tour across Indian cities. “I want to see the response and make it better. One act wouldn’t necessarily have multiple genres but in future I want to do an act that would incorporate different styles like alt comedy that I did on the show where I was going through the audience. I became freer on stage. Someday if I feel like going down into the audience to talk to them I would be more comfortable in doing so,” he said.
The comic is also an avid traveler, who backpacks for 30-45 days in a year to seek inspiration for his work from there.
About the audience that flocks to stand-up shows in India, he said that they have matured but seek out bigger names than comedy itself.
“I’m hoping that eventually if people want to go for an evening out they go for a normal comedy show even if they don’t know who the comics are,” he added. In the future, he sees himself collaborating with other comedians for sketches.
Writer: Asmita Sarkar
Courtesy: The Pioneer
The rap king of Bollywood – Badshah, shares his life experience and one of his most challenging projects till date, with MUSBA HASHMI.
What is your latest album O.N.E about?
It stands for Original Never Ends. This album consists of 18 songs out of which four have been released — DJ Wale Babu, Mercy, No Pain and Heartless. Two will be releasing soon — I am Ill and Aashiq Awara. I have collaborated with Aastha Gill, Sunidhi Chauhan and Lisa Mishra for this album.
How has your journey been from Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia to Badshah?
It has been an amazing journey so far. God has been kind to me. People are kind too that they accepted me and love me. There was a lot of struggle, it wasn’t easy but I don’t want to talk about that. I just want to let people know that you should never give up — that is the lesson I learnt. I never gave up, no matter what. My dream and passion was too strong for anything to pull me down. I kept polishing my skills. I kept looking for ways to become better and it paid off.
When did you first realise your passion for music?
I was always passionate about it. While I was studying and even when I was working, music was a constant. I don’t come from a music background, no one in my family sings and we were nowhere related to music apart from the fact that we used to play music at our place every time. It was a 24 hour thing for us. I grew up with music and this is the reason why I love it.
Where did you get your inspiration from?
When I started rapping, there was no inspiration for me. There was no one to look after me. I was doing something new. That was the reason it became a little difficult to convince my parents to allow me to take it up as a career. It was both a good and bad thing at that time. The good was there were no benchmarks and I was allowed to do it in my way. I can say my inspiration has been my life, all the successful people who become something out of nothing— Virat Kohli, Shah Rukh Khan, Ratan Tata and everyone who is successful.
You have collaborated with different rappers and artists, how was the experience ?
Collaborations always bring out a new sound. It is great for the industry. When two artists come together, they blend the individual song and create a new sound. It is just like mixing two colours to get a new one. My experience has been great with all of them. In future, I would like to work with Kumar Sanu.
How will you differentiate between rappers and singers?
Singers sing, rappers rap. Both are a different genre. It is like differentiating between a table and a chair. A lot of people don’t understand but rap is essentially rudiment poetry and we just follow one note. But in singing, you play with notes. Rap is all about expressions. Singing is about a good voice.
A rap that is close to you and why?
There is one song — Lose Yourself by Eminem. It has inspired me in the greatest way possible. It has taught me to take a leap of faith.
What was the most challenging project for you?
It has to be my album. There were no deadlines because I was doing it for myself. I tend to become lazy and not finish things on time. But I gave myself a deadline and decided to complete my album. No one is doing albums these days, there is probably a lot of insecurities about one’s product (song) but I am very confident about my product and I can’t wait for it to come out.
Best moment from your journey.
I am loving the response I am getting for my song Heartless. Through this song, people have been able to discover a new side to me. I feel glad that people are taking me as a writer and not just an entertainer. I think I am a writer, a lyricist and I have got stories to tell.
Advise to the aspiring rappers.
I just want to let them know that you have to be yourself, you have to keep yourself motivated, be unique — don’t copy anyone — just be you. Rapping is all about uniqueness and what can be more unique than just being yourself.
What is your take on nepotism?
The word is just a nomenclature, it is a word which is being thrown around in a bad light right now. Nepotism exists everywhere, baap ka business beta sambhaal raha hai, vahan nepotism hai. It is being passed down to generations, pehle raja hote the phir unkey bete raja bante thhey. Not that I am comparing anything, but if you are talented, people will find you.
I don’t think it is right to call out someone’s name for nepotism, there are preferences of people like I might not like to work with someone. The word is bad to use just for a few people because in a project, a lot of money is at stake and the directors and the producers do not want to favour people just because they are star kids. I am sure they look for something which is going to be fruitful for them.
What are your upcoming projects?
I have done two songs for Namaste England, one for Stree and then there are other songs from my album that are scheduled to be released soon.
Writer: MUSBA HASHMI
Courtesy: Sunday Pioneer
The building materials such as cement are essential parts to fulfil all infrastructural needs but a group of artists and architectures has transformed it into lifestyle pieces with their innovative designs. By Asmita Sarkar
Hard, solid lines, rough texture and grey facades are the quintessential ways one imagines cement, which makes the backbone of a building, but to see it in an art exhibition and indoors isn’t common nor tried before. While plastic and steel have been reimagined to be used in art installations and fabrics, such experiments with cement are unheard of. The minds behind the art exhibition, Craft Béton – Cement.Reimagined., also had to fight off the image that cement is boring and stiff to make it possible.
To create the exhibition, Craft Village made a residency where international artists also took part. Their different approaches and thought processes fuelled this exploration.
Founder of Craft Village, Iti Tyagi’s piece titled Audrey is flowy with drapes, an unusual sight when it comes to cement. “‘Paris is a good idea’, the iconic Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn once said. Inspired by her words, this table Audrey is a delicate tale told in the French Louis XV Style,” she said. “When we’re working with cement, one of the biggest challenges is that people think it can go only in the moulds and people can wonder how can somebody play with it with hands? I thought why not try and break that idea and try something glamorous with drapes and flowy. I did hand-sculpting and took five to six hours to work on the drapes because after that when cement dries you don’t have much choice,” said she.
“I am a product designer and I had not worked with this material before. Also, I have worked in textile, product and material. So I gathered my knowledge to work with one material — cement — to do something beyond what people think is possible. People think cement is mundane, dry and it can break. I started thinking of inspirations and gave them shape with cement. We are open to more ideas and challenges in the future, if other brands want to work with us too,” said she.
The co-founder of Craft Village, which was approached by Dalmia Cement for the exhibition, Somesh Singh, said that the objective of the project was to bring cement to the home and make it a part of the lifestyle.
While cement is already part of our lives, since it is a material used to make something as essential as our homes, it had not been reimagined as other infrastructural material had been.
“We looked at it as a new material. Plastic and steel have evolved. Cement, despite having fantastic quality, never evolved because nobody applied their mind to it or looked at how one can innovate. The Melissa, my artwork, is inspired by Bhajju Shyam’s Gond art. One of his styles is to paint bees, I was very inspired by his painting which was called the ring. It was almost impossible to show air but the way he patterned it you feel the air. From two-dimensional, I thought that I should reinterpret and create something three-dimensional and thus made this permanent wall installation,” said Singh. The piece has been a hit with people ordering it for their homes. Singh added that people are excited to see the new avatar of cement. The pieces exhibited can be reproduced, even at a bigger scale.
“We don’t want just a single owner,” he added. But the refashioning was no child’s play.
Beginning with playing with the material, experimenting with it and trying new combinations to check the ideal temperature, conditions and mix, they did everything before the piece was created. The Melissa took 30 days to make from scratch.
“One of the best process is that you have to play with the material and fall in love with it to be able to imagine things using it. The other interesting challenge was that this piece also needed the drama of lighting. Shadow plays an interesting and integral role. We created an interesting texture and when you see it you can see a honeybee and a honeycomb,” said he.
This collection by six international designers features contemporary lifestyle pieces for the home and functional art for walls, floors and even bathrooms. It is a celebration of nature, art, life and abstract forms, from where the designers find their inspiration.
Dr Alka Pande, artistic director and curator who has conceptualised and envisioned Habitat Photosphere, of which Craft Beton is a part, said, “The design philosophy of the collection dovetails beautifully into the over-arching philosophy driving Photosphere. The beauty which is inherent in cement and is recreated by Dalmia Bharat through the creativity of human intervention is truly spectacular. This is an astonishing collaboration of production and consumption. It’s a rare feast for the eyes.”
One of the other designers who were part of the exhibition, Cynthia Rodriguez, who made the piece Antheneum, said, “Since knowledge is an unfathomable ocean, these bookends are a dramatic way to literally expand your mind. The more you read the more you know, and the more your mind expands.”
She added about Monarca, “Just as a butterfly is re-born this magazine rack celebrates the metamorphosis that a person undergoes when he steps into the wonderful world of reading.”
Another piece, GanasDeux, by Alan Saga, symbolises both the Chac, a long-nosed god worshiped by the Mayans of Mesoamerica, and the Hindu god Ganesha. And, designer Miroslaw Baca’s piece Birth is a representation of a mother’s womb and is reminiscent of the first touch we have all experienced.
Writer: Asmita Sarkar
Courtesy: The Pioneer
13th July National Day Celebrations of Montenegro in India 2018
This event was held at the Consulate of Montenegro by H.e the Honorary Consul General of Montenegro in India Dr Janice Darbari was witnessed by an exclusive presence of high ranking dignitaries from India and the Diplomatic core gathering of Ambassador’s and High Commissioners and members of the diplomatic core of different countries present in India.
Dean of the Diplomatic Core H.e Mr Frank Hans Dannenberg Castellanos Ambassador extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Dominican Republic, Deputy Dean of the diplomatic core H.e Mr Alem Tsehaye Woldemariam Ambassador extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of eritrea, Honorary Consul General of Montenegro in India Dr Janice Darbari and Mr v.KSaxena Chairman of Khadi and village Industries Commission and members of the KvIC board.
The Chief Guest Mr Subrata Bhattacharjee of the Ministry of external Affairs in India, speaking at the occasion said quote “Hon’ble Minister of state Mr v.K Singh has visited the beautiful country of Montenegro and I am good friends with the Ambassadors of the Balkans you can count on me and my Ministry as friends of Montenegro wish the Khadi promotion a great success”. “The Honorary Consul General Dr Janice Darbari thanking Mr Saxena Chairman Khadi weaving a thread and a big
friendship with Khadi Trendy Montenegro Trendy Khadi, Hand woven hand spun each one of us in our country has the beautiful tradition of hand spun and hand woven our artisans and handicraft with the support of the Dean we can take it to the Global level and can knit the cultural network all over the world and make it a celebration for every human being who wants and love freedom, knitting this yarn right through the grassroots level. I think we can bring a lot of economic freedom to everybody, Welcome to a signature fashion show .How this fabric is worn in India in a very friendly way.”
The Dean of the diplomats who had just flown in from abroad especially for this event stated, “on behalf of all my colleagues Montenegro is the very envy of all of us. We wish we had a good Honorary Consul General like you. We are very happy you are very active you do a great job, and, I congratulate Montenegro for having appointed you and than you for being one of us. You are always a part of our activities and doing a great job for strengthening ties between India and Montenegro.”
Mr v.K Saxena the Chairman of Khadi gram Udyog stated “I want to Congratulate Montenegro Dr Janice Darbari on the occasion of the National Day joining hands with Khadi by Montenegro is a great conversion, a long way to see Khadi going Global. Khadi means
honesty, purity, hand woven and hand spun is also called the National fabric of India. Joining hands with Montenegro is a historical Day today because Khadi is going global. I am thankful to Ms Janice Darbari for giving this opportunity to take it Global.”
The signature Fashion Show was choreographed by the Teachers of D.A.v School Mausasm vihar ,their alumini and senior students participated as models.
Mrs Paridi Sharma N.G.o working with khadi and Raj Darbari helped in designing the trendy clothes .Mrs Sheila Darbari aged 90 years popoualry known as the daughter of the British era the oldest Alumini of DAv College dating back to 1947 brought back nostaligic memories of 1942 as her father Jagdishwar Nigam I.C.S was the district Magistrate in Ballia who allowed a massmovement a crowd of 25 thousand satyagrahis enter Ballia all wearing Khadi. She walked the ramp amidst a great applause as the song “Apne azadi ko hum hargish mita sakte nahi sar kata sakte lekin sar jhukha sakte nahi” (We cannot forget our freedom we can get our heads cut but we cannot bow our head.) The show stopper Mrs Swheta Dagar former first runner up Mrs India worlldwide 2017 ,wore a khadi saree looking absolutely stunning.
—Report filed by Anshuman Dogra, Bureau Chief-Delhi
The goal of a Guru is to bring human beings closer to God. The Shishya can attain Moksha with the Guru’s help.
Let’s try to understand the guru-shishya relationship from the perspective of a shishya. The guru has been given the highest place in the shastras. He is Brahma though he does not have four heads, he is Vishnu though he does not have four arms, he is Shiv though he does not have three eyes. It is in the experience of the guru and the guru alone that the shishya experiences ‘Para Brahma’, or that which is unmanifest. The importance of the guru is such that in The Rudrayamala it is said, “By devotion to the guru, a jiva will attain the state of Indra, Lord of Celestials. But by devotion to Me (Ishta Devta alone) he might not attain Me”.
Dhyan moolam Guru murti, pooja moolam Guru padam
Mantra moolam Guru vakyam, moksha moolam Guru kripa
The above shloka is the essence of the life of a shishya. That is the centre of dhyan for a shishya is the form of his/her guru. All the pilgrimages are made by the shishya at the feet of the guru. Every word of the guru is like a mantra (codified energy) for the shishya and he/she attains moksha only by the grace of the guru.
For a shishya, everything associated with the guru is shreshtam or foremost. It is said that the place where the guru lives is equivalent to the Kailash parvat for the shishya. The trees in the guru’s house are equivalent to Kalp vriksha, the water that flows there is like Ganga, the herbs that grow are like Sanjeevani buti, the air is like prana vayu, the food served is prasad, and the water is amrit. When a shishya sits for dhyan with the guru, he/she experiences the state of the guru and gains from the experience of the years of sadhna done by him.
It is after a lifetime of sadhna that a being meets his/her guru, and when that happens, there are indications for it. The first indication is the occurrence of certain changes in his/her body. It starts looking the way the shishya had always desired. Secondly, any imbalance or disease that was hurting the body starts to disappears. You cease to fall ill. And the third indicator is that you start experiencing the energies that run this creation. A guru does not charge you a fee or claim to rid you of your problems; he puts you on the path of attaining the final reality, opening the doorways to subtler dimensions. He is sthir in the five yams of ashtang yog. He exudes the glow and attraction of yog. Whatever he says happens. His mantra uchcharan is full of force and results in divine experiences and manifestations. It is something which people at Dhyan Ashram experience daily.
One should not be in a hurry to choose a guru. They should be absolutely sure when he/she does choose one, basing faith in the experiences he/she has had. Yog sutras give a period of two years for a sadhak to observe, analyse and understand everything before making a Guru. Because after you make a Guru, if you start doubting his/ her teachings or change the path, it is considered as disrespect to the guru (also known as guru niradar). The sadhna of years comes to a point zero. Poet Kabir has said:
Kabira Te Nar Andh Hai Jo Guru Kahate Aur
Hari Ruthe Guru Thor Hai Guru Ruthe Nahi Thor
The next two years are for the guru to accept the sadhak as a shishya. Just like gurus are rare to find, shishyas, too, are few in number. There are certain indicators of a shishya. A shishya keeps focus on the guru; there exists nothing but the guru for him/her. The faith and surrender of the shishya is absolute. A shishya never hides things from the guru and the relationship between the shishya and the guru is barrier-less. A shishya is like a reflection of the guru. He/she exudes the radiance of the guru and his/her vritti (activity) is according to the state of the guru.
Once the guru makes a shishya, he/she becomes his 100% responsibility. The guru monitors the shishya not daily or hourly, but every second. The guru carries the shishya on the path of yog. The domain of the guru is gyan for the shishya. And the domain of shishya is seva of the guru. Such is the mahima of guru-shishya relationship. It cannot be undermined by tying it to a physical give and take. If anywhere in the world this relationship is rested upon physical or monetary favours from either side, it is a tamasha or a business deal.
The present understanding of the term guru is rooted in the physical. Innovative terms like ‘love guru’, ‘business guru’, and ‘management guru’ have become popular. This is indicative of the wrong thought process and desire pattern of people. Even pilgrimages have been turned into picnic spots in present times. People go there in the hope of fulfilling material aspirations. If your desires are rested in the physical, then you need not go to a guru. Simple charity and service and following the laws of creation is enough to achieve physical desires. Guru is needed when you want to understand what lies beyond the obvious. Then, your desire is for siddhis of yoga and to go out of the ambit of life and death.
The problem of kalyug is that our desires are embedded in the physical. So, even when one sets out on a search for the guru, he/she measures him/ her using physical yardsticks — how big is his ashram, how many factories does he own, etc. Beyond that, one is unable to comprehend and thus misses out on the essence of what a guru is. It’s ok to be embedded in the physical because for the majority, that is the starting point. But if you have found a guru and are walking his path and over a period of time your desires are still as they were, then you need to think again about what you can do differently.
The night of Guru Purnima is of particular significance to a shishya. Yagya and mantra sadhna performed on this night under the sanidhya of Guru bestows the practitioner with boons equivalent to many years of sadhna in just one night.
The writer can be reached at www.dhyanfoundation.com
Writer: Yogi Ashwini
Courtesy: The Pioneer
Mughal influence can be seen in Rahul Mishra’s designs at the India Couture Week. This writer catches up with the designer and talks about his creations.
Spectacularly decorated with an assortment of leaves, the stage looked elegant as it took on the appearance of an eternal heavenly garden where princes and princesses would walk around. With oodles of nature, glamour and splendour, designer Rahul Mishra showcased his collection at the India Couture Week 2018 on the fourth day.
The idea behind the lush greenery on stage was based on Maraasim (relationships in Urdu) and explored the connection between nature and man-made architecture, traditional and modern, according to Rahul. He said, “My idea is that when you create a man-made structure, is there a way that you can bring an element of nature in it?”
While other designers focus on glamour, art and rhetoric, the style-statement for Rahul was, “the cross-pollination of ideas that resulted in entirely unique and unified aesthetic expressing a genuine delight in the creation of beauty,” since nothing could be created in isolation. The theme also reflected the Mughal aesthetics, which he said was not an invention of any single artist, nor any particular group of artists. “It was a blend of art practices from Persia, European influences and the rich indigenous Indian traditions,” said he.
His designs were an amalgamation of Mughal designs and florals, which extended to menswear as well and he explained, “I tried to simplify the graphic rather than over-do it. Sometimes it is great to follow gender-neutral trends and ideas for your designs.”
From zardozi to aari, Kashmiri embroidery, tile-work, inspired from the tomb of Asif Khan and some from the Taj Mahal, Rahul’s designs defined elegance and reminisced history.
With this collection, he applauded the craftsmanship and the artists that worked on it and said, “Many of the pieces were done at my studio, but around 80 per cent of the craftsmen were in their villages. Some of them even live in the slums of Mumbai and by employing them I feel, they can also improve their and their family’s lot.”
Rahul explains his idea of an ideal bride and his designs that follow a 100 percent sustainable approach, “She is extremely intelligent, very well-travelled, and doesn’t get impacted by the sea of influences around her. She is very strong-headed and inspires me the most. She challenges conventionality and is the one who creates a new look, a new role for herself. She also recycles everything what she creates so beautifully. Her idea is to re-invent, re-create and re-wear a lehenga which would otherwise lie in her wardrobe.” For Rahul, fabrics are important for designing, “For me, textiles have always been a starting point and an inspiration. Ultimately, the designer makes the two dimensional fabric look 3D. It is almost like a canvas for me. But as a designer, the beauty is that you have so much variety and beauty in every fabric that the innovation comes out in each. The result is so beautifully unique each time.”
The collection collaborated with Swarovski, to replicate tender features of a dewdrop. The designer experimented while designing and revealed, “A lot of new elements like Swarovski crystals were used. The experiments extended to the shapes where I tried a lot of layering. The blouses had two-three layers and the dupatta was draped differently, sometimes even like a shrug. On top there was an over-layering of the blouse.
“We did play a lot with styles and designs. In this process, the idea was to create a new version in terms of how people can perceive fashion and how they can wear same kind of things differently. Initially, the first pieces are all about showcasing lehengas, which can be worn with a jacket or a shrug, which looks different. Hence, my designs are about exploring possibilities,” he added.
Writer: Chahak Mittal
Courtesy: The Pioneer
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