Tag: event

Categories
Event

Kerala’s historic art form comes to Mumbai

Chavittu Naatakam, India’s most ancient coastal art form from Kerala, forms the theme of the annual Keli Festival starting today.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Human life is incomplete without cultural identity. When people migrate to distant shores, they take with them aspects of their culture, which then mix with the local cultures to create unique cultural expressions. Chavittu Natakam, India’s most ancient maritime theatre tradition is one such cultural expression that came out of such a mixing of cultures – drawing from the European operatic tradition carried by the Portuguese Christian missionaries who came to Kerala’s shores post the 15th century, and merging with the local Kerala martial arts and dramatic traditions.

ramachandran kStarting today, the Keli Festival, a three-day festival to be held at the YB Chavan Auditorium, Nariman Point and Prithvi Theatre, celebrates Chavittu Natakam. Performances over the three days will retell the history of Emperor Charlemagne’s capture of Turkey, and the events that unfolded thereafter. The Metrognome spoke to Keli Festival director Ramachandran K (in pic on left) about the festival; he has been the Festival’s Director since its inception in 1992.

Why did Keli think of bringing Chavittu Naatakam to Mumbai?

I was the special curator for the cultural programmes of India’s premier biennale that happened in Cochi last year. During my work I came across this art form and associated with it. I realised that the historic relevance of this art form in the art history of the world is not yet unveiled. It was not much presented outside Kerala, except for one performance that happened in the 60s in Delhi. It was in these circumstances that our organisation KELI decided to do this year’s annual festival with Chavittu Naatakam as the main theme and to propagate the strength of this art form to the maximum possible extent.

What is the response you anticipate to the Keli Festival this year?

Fairly good. We have had lots of enquiries already.

Can you elaborate a bit on Chavittu Naatakam’s importance in present-day life?

It is the only existing, most ancient maritime theatre tradition in India. It is quite remarkable that it passed the test of time for over five centuries.

Chavittu Naatakam has a significant place in the art history of the world. [It is] A pattern of culture that migrated from across the sea; a theatre form that was nurtured and Anjelikka അഞ്ചേലിക്കdeveloped by the coastal people, a tradition of drama written, directed and enacted by the same coastal people, and a theatre movement with performance spaces, created at the coastal villages out of meagre donations from villagers. It is an artistic emanation which draws its audiences from the same coastal people – Chavittu Natakam is truly the most authentic ancient maritime theatre tradition in every sense of the term.

Unfortunately, no serious research or academic studies have been done on this fascinating art form so far, nor have academies and state patrons extended significant attention towards preserving and propagating this tradition. The form lives on due to enthusiastic artists, passionate audience, and the support and dedication of a very few art lovers.

What has been the most satisfying part of being associated with an initiative of this sort?

Bringing the Indigenous artistic strength of India’s rural locales to the metros, with their purity of tradition.

Why do you think that Mumbai needs to be exposed to Chavittu Naatakam?

Mumbai should acknowledge the proud legacy of the only maritime theatre tradition in India. I also feel that artistic traditions should be explored more and should be presented without being compromised on quality.

Programme schedule:

Day 1

Venue: YB Chavan Centre, opposite Mantralaya, Nariman Point.

Date: Thursday, January 9, 2014 | Time: 6.45 pm

Inaugural Programme: Story: Karalman Charitham (Charelsmagne) Part 1

Written by : Chinnathambi Annavi

Presented by: Yuvajana Chavittunataka Kalasamithi Gothuruth

Directed by: Thampi Payyappilly

Day 2

Venue: Y.B. Chavan auditorium,Opp. Mantralaya

Date: Friday, January 10, 2014 | Time : 7.30 pm

Story: Karalman Charitham (Charelsmagne) Part 2

Day 3

Venue: Prithvi Theatre, Juhu, Vile Parle.

Date: January 11, 2014 | Time: 7 pm and 9 pm

Story: Karalman Charitham (Charelsmagne) Part 3 ( Subtext)

Name of Subtext: Story of Anjelikka

Written by : Raphel Acharuparambil

Presented by: St. Rocky’s  Nrutha Kalabhavan, Pallippuram

Directed by: Alex Thalooppaadath, disciple of late Guru Antony Charamkulam

Collect free entry passes from YB Chavan Centre, Rhythm House, Prithvi Theatre, Maharashtra Watch Company, Dadar and Giri stores Matunga.

Categories
Event

‘Koffee With Kahani’ goes off with a bang

The Metrognome and Silver Innings hosted their first storytelling event for senior citizens at Borivli and got a great response.

It was a simple enough task – write a story, then present it to an audience. There were just two conditions – a senior citizen must write the story, and he or she must team up with a youngster to present it to an audience.

Navanita Parmar presents her love storyWhat was the need for this? Says Sailesh Mishra of Silver Innings, who we teamed with for ‘Koffee With Kahani’, a storytelling session over snacks and coffee, “When we were young, our grandparents told us stories to amuse and educate us. Sometimes, they made up stories on the spot. This activity helped generations bond with each other. These days, though, with families going nuclear and even with grandparents and youngsters glued to TV sets, the art of storytelling is lost. There is hardly any conversation between our elders and us. So this activity will, we hope, bring back our storytelling tradition in a fun way.”

We set December 28 as the date for participants, and selected three great love stories written by Navanita Parmar, Jimmy Dordi and Arun Pandya. The teams set to work, working with youngsters Sanket Jalgaonkar, Renu Jain and Sadaf Surti to present their stories. Of the three, Navanita’s story was a fiction, with the other two stories were real life incidents.

The turnout for the event was great – a mix of senior citizens and youngsters turned up at the Veer Savarkar Udyan, Borivli, to hear and watch three love stories. All three stories were great – Navanita’s moving story was set in the backdrop of mental illness and separation, Jimmy’s story was a hilarious reenactment of his own honeymoon 45 years ago, and Arun’s story was a fun flashback to the time that he as a young man shared a few magical moments with a stranger in the monsoon. Hemendra Jimmy Dordi collects his winner's trophy with his teammate Renu JainBengali provided background vocals to set the stories to music – in Navanita’s story, the gifted singer even provided siren sounds!

The audience voted for Jimmy’s story as the best of the three.

Said Arun, “This was a fun exercise and we enjoyed our rehearsals, too. All three teams would rehearse their lines together and suggest ways to better each other’s presentation. There was no spirit of rivalry at all.”

If you or someone you know would like to be a part of the next ‘Koffee With Kahani’ event, drop us an email at editor@themetrognome.in/silverinnings@gmail.com and we will get back to you with the event schedule, registration process and rules. 

(Pictures courtesy Sailesh Mishra)

Categories
Event

Art discusses human existence

A week-long group exhibition at Nehru Centre Art Gallery will discuss the question of existence; four city artists will participate.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

'Krishnamay Radha' by Harshada TondwalkarFour Maharashtra-based artists will, from December 24 to 31, discuss the concept of existence – through a series of paintings in oil and water colours on canvas.

The paintings are on various topics within the same theme, and the participating artists are Dilip Kolte, Anil Jadhav, Amol Sule and Harshada Tondwalkar. While Dilip, Anil and Amol will showcase landscapes and figurative paintings in oil, pen and ink on canvas, Harshada’s compositions centre around the theme ‘Krishnamay Radha’ (see pic on left). “My work shows the extent to which Radha immersed herself in her love for Lord Krishna,” says Mumbai-based Harshada, adding that her eight canvasses took her about a year to prepare.

Head to the ‘Circular Gallery’, Nehru Centre Art Gallery, Worli, from December 24 to 31, 2013 to view the artists’ works.

(Pictures courtesy Harshada Tondwalkar)

Categories
Event

India Art Festival starts today

500 senior and upcoming artists, over 30 Indian galleries will participate in the the four-day festival at Nehru Centre, Worli.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The third edition of the acclaimed and feted India Art Festival will kick off at Nehru Centre, Worli, today. The festival will see 500 senior and upcoming artists participate; there will also be painters represented by 30 art galleries from across the country.

Artistes such as Mumbai-based Prakash Bal Joshi and Anjlie Vellody will showcase their works at the festival. This year, the Festival includes the ‘Public Art Space’ in which a few art galleries are participating, apart from the segment ‘IAF Conversations’, a panel discussion chaired by Ranjit Hoskote.

The  India Art Festival – India’s contemporary Art Fair is on from December 19 to 22, 2013 at the Nehru Centre, Worli. 

(Picture courtesy Anjlie Vellody. The image depicts Vellody’s work, ‘Laxmi on mobike’)

Categories
Event

An Able woman in a Nano

An evening of discussion on Vanessa Able’s book had the author lavishing praise on India, its people and the Nano.
by Nidhi Qazi

“There’s a feeling that something is at stake.”

“I met nothing but warmth.”

“I felt a sense of emptiness when the journey ended.”

Vanessa Able at the talkThese and many more such experiences came alive in an evening hosted at the British Council, India Bulls, for journalist Vanessa Able, author of The Nanologues, a book about her experience of travelling more than 10,000 kilometres driving the Tata Nano across India. The discussion, facilitated by Rakhee Geelani, a writer, and Vardhan Kondvikar, Editor, Lonely Planet Magazine, India, made for a fun narrative of Able’s journey.

Why did she choose Nano, of all cars, to undertake such a long journey? She said, “I had read so much about the car. From the fact that it was not just a car, but a piece of truly local engineering with a significant price tag; to the fact that it represented hope which cut across the social spectrum made this car worth driving.”

Able chose to do a road trip in a car because she felt that a car drive gives a different kind of energy and “one sees a different level of life depending on the means of transport one chooses.” The fact that she did the entire journey on her own did not make her feel lonely, because as she put it, “I am someone who enjoys my company the best. So I kept talking to myself.” Probably that explains the title of her book.

The author also went on to describe her experience of being a woman driver unaccompanied on the roads. “I know that many women in India do face dangers when they travel unaccompanied, but it’s not just in India. Incidents keep happening in Australia, USA , the UK and all other countries, too. You just got to be smart. But talking about India, I met nothing but warmth. We also need to see that a lot of people around do try to make you feel safe and protected, but unfortunately such incidents don’t get highlighted.”

What was the highest point of the journey? Able replied, “From the start to its end, this journey’s been on a high. Though initially, coming from England, I did get shocked at the roads and driving culture and traffic did play on my nerves, but as time passed, I adapted, got into the journey fully and tried engaging with the landscape as much as I could.”

With the journey’s end, Able felt a sense of emptiness, desolation and not to forget, achievement.

And that signalled the end of the evening, hosted for the author who feels “it takes a little bit of gumption, a whole lot of patience, and the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, for one woman to drive in a land where bullock carts vie for space with SUVs on eight-lane super-highways, where GPS systems fail to give directions, and where a blessing from the gods is considered better road insurance than safer driving.”

(Pictures courtesy Vandan Kajaria, The British Council)

Categories
Event

Nancy Powell visits Thane

US Ambassador Nancy Powell marked World Aids Day this year with a visit to a hospital in Thane district, Maharashtra.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

To mark World AIDS Day, US Ambassador Nancy J Powell visited the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Thane district to see firsthand the work that is being done to combat HIV-AIDS. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital offers HIV testing and counseling services, as well as free anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, to persons living with HIV who are clinically eligible for treatment.

The United States Government is a partner to the State of Maharashtra in tackling the HIV epidemic through the project, ‘HIV/AIDS Partnership: Impact through Prevention, Private Sector and Evidence-based Programming (PIPPSE)’ that is implemented by the Public Health Foundation of India. During the visit, Ambassador Powell noted, “It is powerful to see firsthand the extraordinary work that is being done to combat HIV/AIDS. I am proud of our partnership with the State of Maharashtra in tackling this challenge. This joint effort is one of many examples of the deep partnership between the United States and India to address global health issues.  By working together to prevent, detect, and respond to disease threats, the United States and India are working hand in hand to address some of the most difficult health concerns of our times.”

Exit mobile version