May 2021
ANITA SAYS.....
I cannot write
Of death tolls and fires
Of slow tsunamis
Of puzzlement and pandemic
Of street side funeral pyres
I can only paint
The riot of white hibiscus blooms
On the stoop
How you strain towards the sun
How you droop
Without water, how you wither
How you fall
How then you're on your own
How we'll all
Be the same in the end
- DENIAL by Akhila Ramnarayan
India has descended into COVID HELL.
"I CANNOT BREATHE" has become the chant as gasping citizens collapse as our health care system is overwhelmed by the crisis.
Living like frightened creatures, cowering inside our bio bubble homes, we wait and watch.
Even with the extreme precautions, this double mutant India variant of
the Covid virus has infiltrated lungs and snatched loved ones. And we
are wondering - Are we next?
Our friends are sick. Our colleagues are sick. Our neighbours are sick.
Read on...
ROVING EYE
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TA KI TA TOM
THE KENNEDY CENTER is planning an extended
celebration of its 50th anniversary in its 2021-2022 season, featuring
new commissions by Philip Glass and Esperanza Spalding, year-long artist
residencies by the Roots and Robert Glasper, interactive exhibitions
commemorating its first five decades and a new outdoor bronze statue of
JFK.
Bollywood actor and theatre artist SHREYAS TALPADE launches the
first-ever OTT arena dedicated to theatre and performing arts. NINE RASA
aims to re-ignite the offline theatre experience through the digital
platform.
Dancer MANDEEP RAIKHY continues his national journey through THE SECULAR
PROJECT that explores secularism as a cultural practice through bodily
rituals. Mandeep Raikhy sees this project as an opportunity for him to
move into the landscape of the country without speculating the outcome.
The key provocation that he offers is - "In what ways can the moving body
make an argument for this key value enshrined in our constitution?"
Since early March 2020, he has been building a variety of rituals and
processes to keep the idea of 'secular' alive especially in the times of
religious fundamentalism. Initiated in Delhi, the project has so far
traveled to the length and breadth of the country. His recent
exploration with Masoom Parmar, shared on Narthaki, received some impassioned responses from Swapna Sundari amongst others. The project is right now in Pondicherry, creating waves and initiating conversations.
Akram Khan is reviving THE JUNGLE BOOK and is holding auditions for it from May 24 -29, 2021 at London.
ASIA BOOK OF RECORDS and INDIA BOOK OF RECORDS have recognised U.S.
based SWATHI LAKSHMANAN for conducting a virtual music and dance
festival of Indian classical art forms titled'Margazhi in San Francisco'
for the maximum number of consecutive days during the pandemic. The
festival was held from December 2020 to January 2021and featured more
than 56 artistes from across the globe.
British Council has announced its 2021 awardees for dance, theatre and folk arts.
INDIA-NORTHERN IRELAND: CONNECTIONS THROUGH CULTURE GRANTEES ARE AS UNDER:
1. Derry/Londonderry, electronic music festival, Celtronic has partnered
with New Delhi online radio station Boxout.fm to create new music
through artistic collaboration.
2. Arts Ekta - the cultural charity responsible for the Belfast Mela -
has joined forces with Rhythm and Ragas, a traditional performing arts
group in Rajasthan to develop new outdoor street theatre performances
3. Musician Marty Coyle, together with Donegal's Earagail Arts Festival,
will work together with the Jodhpur RIFF festival in Rajasthan to
create a new touring show.
4. The Lyric Theatre will connect with Rage Theatre in Mumbai to explore themes of colonialism, communication, and language.
5. Independent theatre company Kabosh together with Creative Arts India
are developing work around women's rights and gender violence across
Kolkata, Delhi, Belfast and Derry / Londonderry.
INDIA-WALES: CONNECTIONS THROUGH CULTURE GRANTEES ARE AS UNDER:
1. Diffusion festival in Wales and Chennai Photo Biennale in India with
five commissioned photo artists from Wales and India who will explore
the theme of 'Nation State' and the surrounding socio-political
intersectionality responding to the crises of our time through
lens-based art interventions, installations, discussions and talks. The
photo-artists are Dipanwita Saha, Palani Kumar, Tarun Bhartiya,
Sebastián Bustamante and Huw Alden Davies.
2. Cardiff's international arts festival Festival of Voice and Jodhpur
RIFF join hands for a collaborative project led by women artists from
Wales and India. The lead artists are Laura Tofarides, a stop motion
animator based in Cardiff, and Mahima Dayal Mathur (professionally known
as Bawari Basanti), a Hindustani classical and folk singer-songwriter
from Delhi
3. Ziro Festival of Music partners with Wrexham's FOCUS Wales for a
music exchange programme to develop new collaborative work between Welsh
and Indian artists across art forms.
4.Singer-songwriter and Welsh Music Prize winner Gareth Bonello will
work with Jodhpur RIFF roots music festival to develop a three-region
collaboration with musicians from Wales, the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya,
and Rajasthan.
5. An artist collaboration and development project with Wales-based
Theater Lolo and Hyderabad Children's Theatre Festival that will engage
Indian and Welsh theatre artists through research, mentorship, and
co-development of a children's theatre piece.
University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) in Winston-Salem
has announced the removal of ballet "La Bayadère" from its upcoming
Spring Dance concert (April 30 to May 8), after Hindus protested saying
it "seriously trivializes Eastern religious and other traditions."
Hindus are also critical of Korean National Ballet (KNB) in Seoul for
hosting "La Bayadère" (April 27 to May 2) for "displaying Western
caricaturing of Eastern heritage and abetting ethnic stereotyping."
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Chennakeshava temple, Belur, Karnataka (Photo: Lalitha Venkat)
OBITS
V.S. Amarnath Sury, Secretary of Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha, passed away on 2nd April 2021. He was 79.
Shanmukha Ratna V.S. Amarnath Sury
- Vijay Shanker
Mumbai based dance critic Bhanu Kumar passed away on April 20, 2021
after a brief illness. Her service to the arts, her unbiased writings
and reviews, bringing classical dance and music to mainstream media and
her constant support and encouragement was an invaluable contribution
and she leaves a huge void that's hard to be filled. A multi-faceted
personality, she was also a script writer, director and stage actor. She
is survived by her son Karthik and dancer daughter Sukanya Kumar.
Veteran critic Sunil Mishr of Bhopal passed away on April 23, 2021.
"His eagerness to learn, his exquisite command over Hindi, his extremely
sensitive take on issues and his aesthetic reactions to the creative
process was truly daunting. And his command over cinema, theatre,
literature, philosophy, dance and music was of heroic proportions," says
Geeta Chandran.
L Sabaretnam - Director and Chairman of Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd,
Former Chairman of Chettinad Cement Corporation, independent director
on the board of Indian Oil Corporation and Chennai Petroleum Corporation
Ltd., former President of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (Chennai) and Kartik
Fine Arts - passed away on April 25, 2021 in Chennai after a brief
illness. He was 80.
Hindustani classical vocalist Pt Rajan Mishra, a legend of Indian
classical music, passed away from Covid complications on April 25, 2021
at a Delhi hospital. He was 70. Along with his brother Sajan Mishra, he
was one of the foremost exponents of khayal gayaki. The brothers belong
to the Banaras gharana.
Pt Rajan Mishra's exit - a bolt from the blue
- Dr. SD Desai
V. Krishnan, husband of late dance guru Jamuna Krishnan and father of
dancer Ragini Chandershekar, passed away on April 25, 2021 at Delhi.
Bharatanatyam exponent, theatre person and acclaimed choreographer
Swagata Sen Pillai passed away from Covid complications on April 26,
2021. She has choreographed over two dozen dance-dramas and a number of
traditional classical items in ten different Indian languages. Her
institution Kinkini Dhvani established in 1991 in the precincts of
Uttara Guruvayoorappan Temple in Mayur Vihar, is one of the most
prominent centers for excellence in Kalakshetra style Bharatanatyam in
the NCR. Fluent in eight languages, Swagata Sen Pillai had over 20 years
of dynamic work experience as a development sector professional.
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