Police in Madhya Pradesh need drastic reform
By Navaz Kotwal and Maja Daruwala, IANS,
Elections in Madhya Pradesh are just around the corner. Manifestos are being readied. Promises are being made. People will vote. But there is little belief that whoever wins will drastically improve things.
But they can - if basic issues of governance are honestly dealt with.
Most important amongst these is improving the police and assuring everyone - high and low, rich and poor, man and woman - of safety and security. Today, the people of Madhya Pradesh can't say they have it.
Bhimsen Joshi to be honoured with Bharat Ratna
By IANS,
New Delhi : Indian classical vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi will be honoured with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country, the Rashtrapati Bhavan announced late Tuesday.
President Pratibha Patil is pleased to award the Bharat Ratna to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, an official statement from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
Joshi, 88, was born in Gadag district of Karnataka. He was honoured with Padma Vibhushan in 1999 for his contribution to Indian classical music.
He was also awarded with Padma Bhushan in 1985 and Padma Shri in 1972.
India highlight of prestigious European art fair
By IANS,
New Delhi : Indian art will be the highlight of one of Europe's best-known contemporary art fairs - ARCO Madrid 2009, which will be held in February 2009 and showcase the works of stalwarts like Subodh Gupta, M.F. Husain and Tyeb Mehta.
The 28-year-old fair's special section Panorama, which features art from guest nations, will be dedicated to India.
The Indian cache, curated by leading contemporary artist Bose Krishnamachari, will comprise 13 leading galleries, including three from Delhi, featuring works and photographs by 50 artists.
Ratan Tata surveys Taj damage, INTACH ready to help in restoration
By IANS,
Mumbai/New Delhi : Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group which owns the Taj hotel, surveyed the heritage building which has suffered extensive damage in the three days of fierce gunbattle in Mumbai with militants. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) said it is ready to offer its expertise in restoring the 105-year old structure.
The Tata group said it would "rebuild and restore every inch of the hotel to its original glory".
A bit of bohemia in Delhi boudoirs
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Andy Warhol, the American artistic icon of the 1960s, has entered the minimalist drawing rooms of the capital. He may not have come as an original - but signed prints are no less precious. It is Warhol, after all.
India’s art fair ropes in big global galleries
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : The second edition of the Indian Modern and Contemporary Art Fair 2009, the sub-continent's official art fair, will be bigger, better and more global this year with 16 international galleries, 64 speakers and 25 media partners from across the globe.
The three-day fair will be held during August 19-22 at the Pragati Maidan, the capital's trade and exhibition hub.
Return of modern masters at Sotheby’s India Art Auction
By IANS,
New Delhi : Masters of modern art are set to grab the limelight at Sotheby's India Art Auction in London next week.
Twelve rare figurative compositions by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore painted in 1938, an untitled canvas of horses by Maqbool Fida Husain, a large-format 1956 composition of a pagoda by F.N. Souza and a 2004 self-portrait by Manjit Bawa are the highlights of the India Art Auction at Sotheby's Bond Street Gallery June 15.
The masters are ruling the lots, the country representative of Sotheby's said.
‘Since I was nine years old, I wanted to make a movie on Jinn’
By Ras Siddiqui, TwoCircles.net,
“In the Beginning, three were created. Man made of clay. Angels made of light. And a Third made of fire.” These form the elemental core of Jinn, a movie written and directed by Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad, an American of South-Asian origin with a passion for imagery. Jinn is slated to hit the screens on the first Friday of April, 2014 when it will attempt to capture viewer our imagination and the attention of a worldwide audience. Starring Dominic Rains, Serinda Swan, Ray Park, William Atherton and Faran Tahir, the movie highlights man’s meeting with that elusive third race “born of smokeless fire”, a rare encounter. “Similar to humans in many ways, the Jinn lived invisibly among us and only under dire or unusual circumstances were our paths ever meant to cross.”
Chandrasekaran’s book in non-fiction award shortlist
By IANS
London : A book by Indian-origin author Rajiv Chandrasekaran, a former Washington Post bureau chief in Baghdad, is among six books short-listed for the Samuel Johnson non-fiction prize worth 30,000 pounds.
The book, "Imperial Life in the Emerald City" (Bloomsbury), says that the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq gave a 24-year-old who had never worked in finance the job of revitalising the Baghdad stock exchange.
British historian pens new book on 1857 uprising
By IANS
London : A new book by a British academic offering a fresh alternative to popular accounts of the 1857 war of independence is just out.
Indian art sale slumps at Sotheby’s
By IANS
London : Indian art sale slumped at Sotheby's where more than 38 works were withdrawn in the 166 lots of contemporary art. Those works called off included the cover Gaitonde and the Tyeb Mehta as also Raza, Husain, Anjolie Ela Menon and others as the works went unsold.
Unknown crafts and craftsmen brought to light
By IANS
New Delhi : Making wigs, decorative bulbs, polo-balls, boats, shuttlecocks and jeans - one would not usually associate them with arts and crafts. But that is exactly what Payal Mohanka has done in her book "In The Shadows: Unknown Craftsmen of Bengal".
Released by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram here Tuesday evening, Mohanka's book is about the plight of the anonymous craftsmen who produce these objects.
Potter spins magic, madness in India too
By Azera Rahman and IANS bureau reports, IANS
New Delhi : From dawn to dusk, thousands of fans of Harry Potter thronged book stores in cities and towns across India to grab the seventh and possibly the final edition of the series by J.K. Rowling as the Potter magic cast a spell and held students and parents in its fantasy grip.
A princely interior of the days of Indian splendour
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : An exhibition called the Atmosphere of the Maharajas has opened at the Moscow House of Artists here combining the best of traditional Indian aesthetics and modern European facilities.
Twenty-seven Russian interior designers, using tools Indian artisans worked with, have created a princely Indian suite furnished with antique furniture and statues as well as precious fabrics.
Light colours, glass highlight Kavita Bhartiya’s fashion line
By IANS
New Delhi : Light pinks, sky blues, steel greys, pista greens add the ethereal touch to the glass-embellished collection of fashion designer Kavita Bhartiya who showcases her edition at the Wills India Fashion Week and at a Paris show next month.
Bhartiya, who has named her collection 'The Glass House', will show her collection at the Sep 5-9 Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week and the Prêt-a-Porter at Paris Sep 6-9.
PM greets nation on Raksha Bandhan
By IANS
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday greeted the nation and Indians living abroad on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, which celebrates the love and affection between brothers and sisters.
"The festival is a special occasion to celebrate the bond of love between a brother and sister. It also marks a re-affirmation of traditional family values," the prime minister said.
Celebrated on the full moon of the Hindu month of Shravana, Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi falls on Tuesday this year.
Indian sand artist to create Taj replica in New York
By IANS
Puri : Sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik will be creating a replica of the Taj Mahal at an Indian festival in New York later this month.
Patnaik said he has been invited to the Sep 23-26 festival, called Incredible India @ 60, by the ministry of tourism and culture.
"I have created a sand replica of the Taj in Berlin and in other places of the world as well as in Agra," Patnaik told IANS.
Joining him in New York will be two other artists, Manas Kumar Sahoo and Bulu Mohanty, who are students at the sand art institute that Patnaik runs here.
India celebrates as Taj Mahal gets modern day recognition
By Brij Khandelwal, IANS
You may call it just modern day affirmation of a historical marvel, but when the magnificent 17th century Taj Mahal in the north Indian city of Agra made it to the New Seven Wonders of the World list it meant something more than mere tokenism for millions all over the country.
After all, the luminescent white marble mausoleum built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal is not a mere tourist attraction.
Famous Italian tenor Pavarotti dies at 71
By Xinhua
Rome : Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti died early Thursday at the age of 71 in Modena, Italy, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Pavarotti, hailed as the greatest tenor of his generation, underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer last year and had been staying at his villa in Modena in north-central Italy.
Pavarotti had been preparing to leave New York in July 2006 to resume a farewell tour when doctors discovered a malignant pancreatic mass. He was operated upon in a New York hospital and was forced to cancel his remaining concerts in 2006.
Meghalaya to strum its way into Guinness records
By Syed Zarir Hussain, IANS
Shillong : A band of more than 2,000 guitarists is set to perform a record-breaking strumming session here in October to top the current Guinness Book of World Records' guitar ensemble of 1,700.
The proposed guitar ensemble titled 'Rhythms of Meghalaya' is scheduled to be the opening item at the 10-day long Autumn Festival beginning Oct 26 in state capital Shillong.
2,000-year-old tomb frescos found in east China
Jinan, (Xinhua) Chinese heritage workers said Tuesday they have discovered well-preserved frescos in a tomb dating back to 2,000 years in east China's Shandong province.
The frescos painted with blue, green, black and red colours were found on the walls of a tomb at an old residential yard in Dongping county, south-western Shandong, when a real estate company was excavating the foundation for a planned shopping mall.
Voluminous dance: 600 kg of artistic vitality in Cuba
By DPA
Havana : Ana Julia moves across the stage almost in a trance. She jumps, folds, turns to the music to end in perfect splits.
Nothing unusual for a dancer, except that this one - a member of the Cuban company Danza Voluminosa (Voluminous Dance) - weighs over 100 kg and her age is close to 40.
Among them, the eight members of the group created a decade ago by dancer and choreographer Juan Miguel Mas weigh a total of "over 600 kg," as they themselves admit in laughter.
Indian contemporary art at Christie’s Hong Kong auction
By Uma Nair, IANS
Hong Kong : Christie's forthcoming Asian contemporary art sale, which is to take place here Nov 25, will offer 327 spectacular and highly-coveted works by some of the most celebrated artists of the region, including notable Indian artists.
Collective effort needed to preserve heritage: PM
By IANS
New Delhi : Calling on civil society groups and citizens to take part in the protection and preservation of India's heritage and monuments, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday said conservation should not be seen as an "elitist preoccupation".
In the same breath, Prime Minister Singh reminded scientists, archaeologists and anthropologists to look beyond the government to protect historical monuments, pointing out that a change in the mindset was important to care for heritage.
Achuthanandan trying to prevent closure of British library
By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Tuesday held discussions with a British Council official in an effort to prevent the closure of the council's library here.
"We have expressed our desire to see that the library remains functional here in some form or the other. The representative of the council said he will discuss this with his officials," Achuthanandan told reporters after meeting Chris Gibson, British Council's director for south India.
Children’s drawing contest to spotlight young Russians’ image of India
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : The publishers of Russia's oldest humour magazine for children have announced a contest for the best drawing about India.
"The contest is being held as part of the Year of Russia in India and is devoted to Russia's participation as a guest of honour at the 18th New Delhi World Book Fair," the head of the Vesyolye Kartinki Publishing House, Irina Deshkova, told RIA Novosti in an interview.
Mumbai to host film fest dedicated to peace
By IANS
Mumbai : Peace will be the main theme highlighted at the third '7 Islands International Film Festival', which begins here Saturday and cinema buffs will be treated to as many as 18 acclaimed movies.
The fest opens with German film "A Song For Beko" at the Bhavan's College auditorium in Andheri, northwest Mumbai. The movie, directed by Nizamettin Aric, has won seven international awards, including the Audience Award at the Sao Paulo International Film Festival and the Angers European Film Festival in 1993, festival director Bankim Kapadia said here Friday.
Ire, indifference after closure of ‘objectionable exhibition’
By IANS
Chennai : Anger and indifference are the two main reactions expressed here Friday following Thursday's closure of an "objectionable exhibition" organised by French journalist and political commentator Francois Gautier at the Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA).
The exhibition claimed to "expose the misdeeds against Hinduism during the Mughal period".
Celebrate Holi with beetroot, pomegranate, prescribes Dikshit
By IANS
New Delhi : Play Holi with eco-friendly colours made from beetroot, berries, spinach, mint, onion and peels of pomegranate, says Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
"Most of the artificial colours are made of synthetic chemicals containing harmful elements like lead and cadmium. They are responsible for many skin diseases, asthma and even cancer," Dikshit says in an advertisement published Wednesday.
Indian, African artistes pay tribute to two great cultures
By IANS
New Delhi : It was a magical night celebrating the artistic confluence of two ancient lands, an ocean apart but akin in spirit against the backdrop of history.
The beats of African drums and incantation of chants mingled with mystic Sufi strains and nuances of Indian classical dances to create a soul-stirring tribute to the spirit of India and Africa - in a gala concert here titled 'A Tribute to Africa'.
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) presented the show Monday evening on the occasion of the first-ever India-Africa summit.
Ministry of Sound to perform in India
By IANS,
Mumbai : Ministry of Sound, the London nightclub that has grown into an internationally renowned music and dance band, will perform in India next month.
Fans of the band will get to rock to its music in Hyderabad, Kolkata and New Delhi July 2, 4 and 5, respectively. Indian music and lifestyle channel Vh1 has organised the tour.
Two top DJs of Ministry of Sound, Paul Jackson and Scott Simmons, will accompany the troupe, according to a Vh1 press note.
Exposure makes Indian art prices gallop in global mart
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : The price curve of Indian art is shooting north in the global market because of "increased consciousness" about it, say experts.
This has been brought about by greater visibility of art and artists from the country and easy access to relevant information about Indian art from the internet, they say.
"Indian art is becoming a part of international consciousness, why is why we have seen a spectacular growth in this field," Yamini Mehta, director of modern and contemporary Indian art at the London-based Christie's, told IANS on e-mail.
Video art comes to Delhi
By IANS,
New Delhi : After learning to appreciate works of modern and contemporary masters like Raja Ravi Varma, M.F. Husain and Subodh Gupta, the capital is now opening up to new artistic formats.
A Delhi-based art gallery has announced a unique reach-out scheme titled "Video Wednesday" as part of its mass awareness programme to acquaint common people with cutting-edge new media art. A part of the reach-out programme will be shown July 30 at Gallery Espace.
Three Muslim women in Man Asia long list
Three Muslim women in Man Asia long list
New Delhi: Three Muslim women found themselves among the 21 selected for Man Asia Literary Prize. The long list of 21 unpublished works includes work from Anjum Hasan, Daisey Hasan, and Salma.
The 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize long list was chosen from submissions received from all over Asia. The largest single group of submissions was from India, followed by the Philippines.
A short list of five works will be announced in October 2008 and winner awarded in November.
Exacavation on to trace Nalanda varsity’s main gateway
By IANS,
Patna : Excavation work has started to find the main gateway to Bihar's 2,500-year-old Nalanda University, considered to be one of the world's first residential universities.
A part of the ruins of the ancient university is still standing but its main entrance is yet to be found.
A team of experts from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) started excavation work last week at Ghorakatora mound near Giriyak in Nalanda district, about 100 km from here, to find the main gateway.
Arts and culture pump $84.6 billion into Canada’s economy
By Gurmukh Singh, IANS,
Toronto : Canada's thriving arts and culture contributed a record $84.6 billion to the nation's economy last year.
Highlighting the economic significance of the sector, a report by the private think-tank Conference Board of Canada released Tuesday said it accounted for as much as 7.4 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).
The report comes amid the government's decision to cut funding for various cultural and arts programmes by $45 million.
This artist has 30,000 Ganeshas, wants 70,000 more
By IANS,
Bangalore : A Bangalore-based painter's love for Ganesha is taking him to different parts of India hunting for idols and images of the elephant-headed god. In three years he has gathered 30,000 pieces. His aim is to take the collection to 100,000 in the next seven years.
Watch out for HIV, Bengal cautions puja revellers
By Soudhriti Bhabani, IANS,
Kolkata : As West Bengal gears up to celebrate the mega festival of Durga Puja, health authorities and some NGOs are cautioning youth about the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS during the five nights and days of revelry.
Owing to the trend of high alcohol consumption and a carefree lifestyle during the puja days beginning Oct 5, sexually transmitted health disorders among youngsters could go up, they say.
Chandigarh residents out on heritage walk
By IANS,
Chandigarh : As part of the ongoing heritage festival in the city beautiful, a walk was organised here Tuesday morning.
Around 150 school students, 100 volunteers and many top officials of the administration took part in the heritage walk, flagged off by the city's administrator S.F. Rodrigues.
The walk started from the Open Hand Monument and concluded at Botanical Garden, covering a distance of around one and a half km. The walk was organised by the UT administration in collaboration with Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).
Cities change, art reflects, artists experiment
By Madhusree Chatterjee,IANS,
New Delhi : India's green acres are now concrete jungles. Rapid urbanisation has changed cityscapes and skylines, most of which have morphed beyond recognition.
An art exhibition in the capital, "Nature and the City", has tried to open a dialogue between the country's growing environmental concerns, its people and fast-track urbanisation through multi-discipline art like hand-drawn urban cartographic maps, installations, photographs and traditional canvases.
Asia’s biggest theatre fest will host 63 plays
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : The 11th Bharat Rang Mahotsav, the much-awaited annual theatre festival of India's National School of Drama (NSD) that begins here Jan 7, will feature more new faces, experimental forms and a revival of old classics. Billed as the biggest in Asia, the Jan 7-19 festival will host 63 plays - 51 from India and 12 from abroad.
It will also have an exhibition devoted to legendary playwright Badal Sircar.
Harry Potter casts his spell – now in Nepali
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Three years after the end of the armed Maoist uprising and with the beginning of an uneasy peace that set back development and even literacy in the Nepali countryside, five women are trying to re-kindle the dying skill of reading and writing in its interior villages - with the magic of Harry Potter.
"Unlike in India or Bangladesh, there are very few books for children in Nepal," Helen Sherpa, one of the five women who formed the Sunbird Publishing House a decade ago to fill that void, told IANS.
Ganesh art show cut short in Goa after threats
By IANS,
Panaji : An art exhibition by renowned installation artist Subodh Kerkar with god Ganesh as its theme will now be held for two days instead of the planned 12 days, that too under police protection, after it was opposed by Hindu rightwing groups.
"We are going ahead with the exhibition. We have limited it to two days only though. We will not cow down to these forces," Kerkar, a former member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), told reporters at the North Goa police head quarters in Porvorim.
‘Best of India’ exhibition opens in Almaty
By IANS,
Almaty (Kazakhstan): A two-week "Best of India" exhibition that aims to further promote and strengthen trade and commercial relations between India and Kazakhstan and to disseminate information about the potential and prospects for enhanced diversification and deepening of these ties has opened here.
Amercians are respectful of Indian music: Zakir Hussain
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, who is out to present a picture of a new vibrant India through the music and rhythm of its diverse culture across the United States, says Americans are very respectful of Indian music and listen to it with "reverence and focus".
"It has been going very very well," Hussain told IANS over the phone after a show at the San Francisco Jazz Festival last week as part of a month-long 17-concert "Masters of Percussion" tour across a dozen American cities, including New York, Chicago and Atlanta.
Dhaka cops shut down exhibition on extra-judicial killings
By IANS,
Dhaka : A photography exhibition on extra-judicial killings carried out by government agencies was shut by police here. Indian writer and human rights activist Mahasweta Devi, however, went ahead and inaugurated it on the road outside the gallery.
Police Monday closed the exhibition "Crossfire" about an hour before it was scheduled to start. A police contingent barred entry and exit of visitors at the exhibition venue.
Africa to showcase its traditional performing arts in India
By IANS,
New Delhi : Performers from South Africa, Rwanda, Tunisia, Malawi and Nigeria will showcase traditional African performing arts at a three-day festival in the capital next week.
The festival from May 18-20 is "essentially an attempt to familiarise the Indian audience with the traditional African performing arts", a statement from the host Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) said.
New wave: Art is where the city is
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Cities are canvases of art in 21st century India. The psyches and venues of art are changing, from closed spaces of museums and art houses to large public arenas.
"Colour it with imagination, creative language and dialogue - and the cities become panoramic canvases of high contemporary art," says Mukesh Panika, director of the Delhi-based Religare Arts Initiative.
Religare has been trying to transform Connaught Place, the soul of the capital's business precints, into a work of live public art.
Bengal to give Rs.750 stipend to 4,000 folk artistes
By IANS,
Kolkata : The West Bengal government would provide monthly stipends of Rs.750 to nearly 4,000 folk artistes across the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said here Tuesday.
Would have loved to shoot in Pakistan: ‘Filmistaan’ director
By Natalia Ningthoujam,
New Delhi : Lack of resources and complications related to filming in Pakistan kept first-time director Nitin Kakkar away from shooting his...
Over 9.5 lakh NCC cadets performed yoga at 1,805 centres
New Delhi: Over nine and a half lakh cadets of the National Cadet Corps (NCC), participated in the International Yoga Day on Sunday.
"The organisation...
Agra gets its first FM
By IANS
Agra : The Taj Mahal city has got its first FM radio station, and that has been accompanied by a huge demand for radio sets.
Catwalk shifts to Pragati Maidan for fashion week
By IANS
New Delhi : To contain the continually swelling fashion fete of India - the Wills lifestyle Fashion Week (WIFW) - the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) has this time moved to a bigger venue, the Pragati Maidan.
The tenth edition of the spring-summer WIFW 2008 is scheduled here for Sep 5-9.
Goa to host Know India Programme for diaspora
By IANS
New Delhi : Goa is all set to host the latest edition of the Know India Programme (KIP), an orientation event held by the government to help diaspora youth know more about Indian way of life and culture that starts Aug 29, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said here Monday.
Ravi said this year's event, which will go on till Sep 15, would specially target Indian origin youth rather than non-resident Indians (NRIs).
President Patil gets kids from all over India for rakhi
By IANS
New Delhi : President Pratibha Patil celebrated Raksha Bandhan in a unique way Tuesday by inviting children from different parts of the country to Rashtrapati Bhavan. It was the first time that kids tied rakhis on a woman president on the festival that symbolises the love between brothers and sisters.
Leopard rescued from poachers in Himachal Pradesh
Shimla, Sep 13 (IANS) An adult leopard caught in a poacher's trap in a Himachal Pradesh forest was rescued by a team of forest and veterinarian staff, officials said here Thursday.
A villager passing by a forest Wednesday saw the growling leopard and informed the nearest state wildlife office.
Soon the rescue team arrived at the spot in Una district near Chintpurni, some 250 km from here.
They tranquillised the animal and then carried it to the nearest road on a stretcher, where the animal was put in a cage. It was treated for injuries on its leg sustained when the trap sprung.
Peruvian archaeologists find 1,200-year-old mummies
By Xinhua
Lima : Archaeologists in Peru have found 40 mummies dating from the 1,200-year-old Chachapoyas culture in the Amazon fortress of Kuelap, project leader Alfredo Narvaez said.
He told reporters Wednesday that the mummies were discovered alongside Inca pottery, and that they showed signs of being affected by a fire in the archaeological complex, some 1,409 km northeast of the nation's capital.
Frankfurt Book Fair: the world’s biggest deal in publishing
By DPA
Frankfurt : When the world's biggest annual trade fair devoted to books begins Oct 10 in the German city of Frankfurt, a fresh crop of up-and-coming writers will be introduced to publishers from round the globe.
This year, 7,300 exhibitors from 110 nations will attend the Frankfurt Book Fair, hoping to sell foreign rights for everything from school textbooks and calendars to poetry anthologies.
Deals on translation and re-publishing rights as well as printing contracts and bulk book sales are negotiated during the fair.
Bands from Saarc countries to hold musical extravaganza
By IANS
New Delhi : Want a musical treat from eight different countries? Then a visit to the three-day musical extravaganza in the heart of the national capital in which bands from South Asian Association for Regional Association (Saarc) countries will be performing is an absolute must.
Fusion bands from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan will treat people to different flavours of music from Nov 30 to Dec 2 at the Central Park in Connaught Place.
Temple in Bangladesh needs urgent repairs: report
By IANS
Dhaka : A 16th century Hindu temple complex at Kantanagar in northeastern Bangladesh's Dinajpur district is "on the verge of ruin" and needs urgent government attention and repairs, said a report published Friday.
The government had sanctioned an annual sum of Taka 22,599 (about $300) for maintenance of the temple complex in 1961 while the country was a part of Pakistan. However, the government stopped the grant in 1994, says The Daily Star.
London to host largest festival of Chinese culture
By IANS
London : London will host its biggest celebration of Chinese culture next year, featuring an Olympic theme and the largest spring festival outside Asia, BuaNews agency reported Thursday.
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said, "The capital's Chinese New Year celebration is a key event on our cultural calendar. It is the largest outside China."
As Beijing readies to stage the Olympic Games in August, this festival will provide a unique opportunity to celebrate Chinese arts, heritage and culture.
Cartoonist Laxman’s common man turns fifty
By IANS
Pune : Although cartoonist R.K. Laxman describes his "Indian Common Man" as timeless and immortal, it was in 1958 that he created the simple yet thoughtful cartoon character, who continues to enthral generations of readers.
Wednesday evening, when his common man turned fifty, saw Laxman with former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam commemorate the eight-feet-tall statue that adorns the Symbiosis Vishwabhawan Auditorium here.
The statue of the common man, was unveiled by then president K.R. Narayanan on Dec 19, 2001.
A.R. Rahman acquires land for his dream project
By Subhash K. Jha, IANS
Mumbai : Music maestro A.R. Rahman is ready to build a music conservatory in Chennai for young talents who want to learn Western classical music. He has already acquired land for it.
"It's near the Chennai airport. And we plan to start work on it very soon," Rahman told IANS. He says starting a music conservatory is a dream he has nurtured for years.
Russian extravaganza enthrals at historic Purana Quila
By IANS
New Delhi : The serene and picturesque Purana Quila here provided the perfect backdrop to the spectacular Russian cultural festival that unfolded with all its magnificent components - orchestra, ballet and acrobatics - at the inauguration of the Year of Russia in India Tuesday.
Cold winds were blowing through the evening but as the artistes, nearly 300 of them, came up on stage one by one and enthralled the audiences with their performances, the winter chill seemed to simply melt away.
‘Payment in Kind’ programme gives Mexico worthy art
By DPA
Mexico City : In 1957, painter David Alfaro Siqueiros proposed that artists in Mexico be allowed to pay taxes with their work. Half a century later, this idea has given rise to one of the world's most important collections of contemporary art.
The unprecedented programme, Pago en Especie (Payment in Kind), went into force in 1975 through a presidential decree, but it received the support of the artists Raul Anguiano, Luis Nishizawa and Adolfo Best Maugard who donated works to get it going.
Lahiri’s new book zooms to No.1 in NYT bestseller list
By IANS
New York : Indian American Jhumpa Lahiri's new book "Unaccustomed Earth", which has been receiving rave reviews in the US press, has zoomed to the top in New York Times' list of best-selling fiction within two weeks of its April 1 launch.
The book, New York-based Lahiri's second collection of short stories, debuts at No. 1 slot in the list to appear in the Times on April 20, a paper's blog said Thursday.
Berlin – a Mecca for art enthusiasts
By DPA,
Berlin : Long considered a backwater of the arts world, the German capital is today attracting a wave of art dealers, gallery operators and collectors from around the world.
Along with New York, Paris and London, Berlin has become a "must" for those in search for modern and contemporary works as well as new trends in art. Hundreds of new galleries have sprouted up in the past eight years.
When theatre teaches lessons from life
By Vidhu Aggarwal, IANS,
New Delhi : Bedraggled boys hawking magazines and trinkets at traffic crossings in the national capital would irritate nine-year-old Saumitra Khuller to no end. He never thought he would some day re-enact their lives on stage. Today, Khuller, a class four student of Delhi Public School, Vasant Vihar, has a totally different insight - thanks to a theatre workshop he attended and where he reprised the role of a street child who begs for a livelihood.
For 32 slum kids, theatre workshop is a revelation
By IANS,
New Delhi : They live in the Indian capital but had never heard of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. Now an all-Muslim cast of 32 slum children is set to stage a play on the revolutionary - an effort that has changed their own lives in so many ways.
For the children, including eight girls, who have been taking theatre classes at the Dr Zakir Hussain Senior Secondary School in Zafarabad, a shantytown in east Delhi, it has meant battling ignorance, social stigma and gender discrimination.
Happiness ‘rising steeply’ in India: survey
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Indians may not be the happiest people in the world yet but happiness in India shows "steeply rising trends" as the world becomes happier by the day, suggests a new survey.
The happiest country in the world is Denmark with its democracy, social equality and peaceful atmosphere, according to the World Values Survey, funded by the US National Science Foundation.
Eco-Friendly Mosque Opens In Manchester
By Bernama,
London : An eco-friendly mosque, which runs on renewable energy has been opened in Manchester, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Wednesday.
The US$6.9 million mosque features solar panels, under-floor heating and lowe energy bulbs, and is built with woods and Indian pink stone. It also fuses Eastern and Western architecture, and peach-coloured deep pile carpets, a huge chandelier and plasma televisions.
Aziz Mirza to go on three-year break after ‘Kismat Konnection’
By Devapriyo Bhattacharjee, IANS
Mumbai: Director Aziz Mirza, whose latest film "Kismat Konnection" releases Friday, says he has no plans to make another film for the next three years.
"I will go on a long holiday after the release of my film," said Mirza, who is known in the industry for making selective films.
"First, I plan to go to Iran and then to various other places including the US. In the US, I plan to travel by road from the east coast to the west coast. And when all my money gets exhausted, I will be back," said the 63-year-old director.
God Ganesh goes overseas for Indian devotees!
By Varada Bhat, IANS,
Mumbai : Lord Ganesh may traditionally have a tiny mouse for a mount, but the portly elephant-headed god is now travelling across the seven seas - into the homes of Indians abroad for the Ganpati festival!
Take the case of software analyst Ashok Mallya. When he moved to California with his family for a high-flying job, his parents kept coming back to Mumbai every year to celebrate the annual Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
Bangladesh mourns death of poet Samudra Gupta
By IANS,
Dhaka : Noted Bangladeshi poet Samudra Gupta, a freedom fighter who wrote against religious extremism in his poems, short stories and novels, died in a Bangalore hospital in India Saturday.
The body of the 62-year-old poet, whose real name was Abdul Mannan, was received here Sunday.
Widely known by his pen name, Mannan, he worked for many newspapers since 1960. He was general secretary of Bangladesh' National Poetry Council.
Among the many awards he received was one from the government of Tripura in India.
Sibal recalls July 22 trust vote with poetic rage
By IANS,
New Delhi : Exactly a month ago, when some opposition politicians tossed wads of currency notes in parliament claiming they were bribed, they did not know that one of their tribe will freeze this moment of "betrayal and trust" in his mobile and turn it into a poem.
Devotees in West Bengal celebrate Mahanavami
By IANS,
Kolkata : Festivities reached a crescendo, as thousands of people resplendent in their finest attire swarmed the streets Wednesday to visit different Durga Puja pandals celebrating Mahanavami across West Bengal.
The community puja pandals or marquees in the state drew huge crowds, as the young and the old savoured every moment of the puja spirit, partaking bhog - community feasts of food items offered first to the goddess - and meeting friends and relatives.
Jethro Tull, Anoushka Shankar send message of hope through music
By IANS,
New Delhi : Jethro Tull, one of the world's best western music bands from Britain, and sitar exponent Anoushka Shankar Saturday sent out a message of hope to terror-ravaged India saying if London could withstand the blitz during World War II and the underground train bombings three years ago, India should be able to do the same.
They will perform in the capital Sunday at the Pragati Maidan as part of a five-city live tour presented by Seagram.
Photographs take centrestage at Saffronart winter online auction
By IANS,
New Delhi : Modern art made a comeback and photographs took centrestage at Saffronart's Winter Online Auction of modern and contemporary art that grossed total sales of Rs.140 million (US$ 2.9 million).
Nearly 740 registered bidders from 35 countries vied for the art works on sale.
The auction also saw an interest in Indian photography and world auction records were set for nine photographers - Dayanita Singh, Raghu Rai, Prabuddha Dasgupta, T.S. Nagarajan, T.S. Satyan, Annu P. Matthew, Swapan Nayak, Prashant Panjiar and Ryan Lobo, a release issued by Saffronart said.
Fingers pointed at ASI as stone slab falls at Taj
By IANS,
Agra : Conservationists here have reacted sharply after a seven-foot-long slab of red sandstone fell off at the Taj Mahal this week. Is the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) - responsible for the upkeep of historical monuments - doing its job, they are asking.
Luckily, "there was no one around, otherwise there would have been a grim tragedy," said Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society.
When religion and art overlapped along the ancient Silk Route
By IANS,
Book: "Indian & Central Asian Art: Narrative Interpretations of Unique Fragments"; Authors: P. Banerjee and Radha Banerjee-Sarkar; Publisher: Abha Prakashan; Price: Rs.4,000
Shakti or Durga, Hindu god Shiva's consort, was worshipped in the ancient Khotan region of China in the 7th century AD, reveals a new book that traces how Buddhism and Hinduism flourished together in China, India and Central Asia along the ancient Silk Route.
‘Punjabi music is popular across the world’
By IANS,
Chandigarh : Punjabi has made its presence felt in every corner of the world, says Britain-based music composer Rajinder Singh Rai aka Punjabi MC, who uses a lot of Punjabi folk and bhangra in his fusion music.
Rai, who visited Chandigarh to promote his new album "Indian Timing", told IANS: "Punjabi has become a cosmopolitan language that has made its presence felt in every corner of the world. Even my new album 'Indian Timing' features international artistes like Jay-Z and Ofra Haza. In fact, no Bollywood movie is complete without a Punjabi song."
Over a million attend Taj cultural fest, but many unhappy
By IANS,
Agra : More than a million people attended the 10-day cultural extravaganza Taj Mahotsava that ended here Friday, but many were unhappy as it did not showcase traditional culture or have sessions on conservation of heritage buildings.
The extravaganza at Shilpgram, 500 metres from the Taj Mahal, set a new record in the number of tickets sold, a tourist official said.
Talking about India, Pakistan and Kashmir through art
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : India-Pakistan relations and militancy in Kashmir are some of the geopolitical concerns of the sub-continent that leading contemporary artist Shilpa Gupta talks about through her new-age art.
The works of Gupta, whose second solo show in the capital opened Saturday, are technology driven - combining installations, interactive video projections, photographs, music, objects and performances and public spaces.
India exhibits ‘incredible’ image to woo Scandinavian tourists
By IANS,
New Delhi : A series of 'Incredible India' roadshows was held for the first time in the Scandinavian countries - Finland, Sweden and Norway - to promote India as a preferred holiday destination, the tourism ministry said Tuesday.
Bangladesh to host its biggest art show next month
By IANS,
Dhaka : The biggest international art exhibition and competition in Bangladesh, for which 26 countries have confirmed participation so far, will begin Oct 8, an official said.
Indian cine buffs to savour Israeli movies
By IANS
New Delhi : Indian moviegoers will have an opportunity to enjoy eight top Israeli films during a four-day Israeli film festival, which begins in the Indian capital Monday.
Women’s wear dominates India International Garment Fair
By IANS
New Delhi : The 39th India International Garment Fair, rated Asia's largest fashion fair, opened here Tuesday and largely focused on the women's wear section.
"Women's garments have seen tremendous growth and this is reflected at this fair as 322 of the estimated 391 participants are in the women's section," Vijay Mathur, senior director of the Apparel Export Promotion Council, one of the organisers of the fair, told IANS.
Catwalk shifts to Pragati Maidan for fashion week
By IANS
New Delhi : To contain the continually swelling fashion fete of India - the Wills lifestyle Fashion Week (WIFW) - the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) has this time moved to a bigger venue, the Pragati Maidan.
The tenth edition of the spring-summer WIFW 2008 is scheduled here for Sep 5-9.
Potter mania strikes at dawn
By IANS
New Delhi : Snaking queues, excited faces and an electric atmosphere. For the thousands of Potter fans across the country the moment they have been long waiting for has finally arrived - "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", the seventh edition of the Harry Potter series, has been released early Saturday morning.
Book shops opened at 6.30 a.m. to cash in on the Potter mania as parents and children lined up to buy what its author J.K. Rowling said was the final edition of the Potter series.
Newsweek finds “Gandhi, My Father” gripping
Washington, Aug 2(IANS) "Gandhi, My Father," a new film on the Mahatma has been acclaimed by Newsweek "as a gripping account of the stormy relationship between one of the world's greatest political icons and his rebellious eldest son."
Based on the biography "Harilal: A Life," by the Gujarati scholar Chandulal Dalal, "Gandhi, My Father"-shot in Hindi and English "sheds light on the human side of the Mahatma, whose non-violent resistance to British rule helped win India its independence in 1947," notes the American magazine in its Aug 6 issue.
Abe to stop by and renew family bonds in Kolkata
By Avijit Chatterjee, IANS
Kolkata : Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will play the role of a dutiful grandson when he visits Kolkata Thursday to record his gratitude to the family of Radhabinod Pal, the lone Indian judge at the war crimes tribunal led by Allies that indicted Japan after World War II.
It was Pal's carefully crafted argument that led to the acquittal of Abe's grandfather Kishi Nobuske, who was detained by the 11-member war tribunal. Nobuske went on to become prime minister of Japan in 1957.
Loot of Baghdad museum inspired ‘The Last Testament’: author
By Azera Rahman, IANS
New Delhi : Jonathan Freedland, author of the bestseller "The Last Testament", says the inspiration for his book came from "one of the most dramatic events of recent times" - the looting of the Baghdad museum of antiquities in 2003.
Thousands of invaluable historical items were either destroyed or stolen when the museum was pillaged. And Freedland, who has spent a good 20 years of his life covering the Middle East conflict as a journalist, imagined the fate of one of these stolen items and wove it into the book.
Indian origin music scholar stopped from entering US, gets support
New York, Sep 17 (IANS) A group of US musicologists and intellectuals are protesting an incident in which a British born, Indian origin music scholar was stopped from entering the US last year without any valid explanation.
One of them has even written a letter to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to resolve the issue.
Nalini Ghuman, a talented musicologist and expert on the British composer Edward Elgar, was stopped at the San Francisco airport last year while returning from Britain and was told that she was no longer allowed to enter the United States.
With 200,000 English titles, it’s a book mall!
By Mukta K. Gupta, IANS
Mysore : So you thought the book-reading habit was on the decline? A bookstore that has opened here with over 200,000 titles in English and 80,000 in the local Kannada language is set to prove you wrong.
Sapna Book House, a multi-level 18,000 sq ft fully air-conditioned mall in Devraja Mohalla of Mysore city of Karnataka, in southern India, claims to be the largest book showroom in the country.
New York museum to honour Indian designer
By IANS
New Delhi : Indian accessories designer Meera Mahadevia will be felicitated by the famous Newark Museum in New York for her 21 years of hard work and creativity.
On Oct 3, as a part of The India Celebration Week, a preview of Meera's accessories and garments will be hosted by the museum and displayed in the Museum Rotunda and the Education Shop in New York for exclusive shopping.
Indian arts, culture celebrated in South Africa festival
By Fakir Hassen, IANS
Johannesburg : A standing ovation for renowned ghatam (clay pot) percussionist Vikku Vinayakram ended a series of public performances, including theatre, music and dance, that were part of a nine-week long festival of Indian culture organised by the Indian mission here.
Indian-origin author short-listed for Canadian literary prize
Toronto, Oct 10 (IANS) A Canadian author of Indian origin is among five novelists who have been short-listed for this year's prestigious Scotiabank Giller Prize.
M.G. Vassanji, who has won the Giller Prize twice before -- in 1994 and again in 2003 -- has been short-listed for his work "The Assassin's Song", which chronicles the clash of modernity and tradition in India.
Tibetan refugees burn Hu Jintao’s effigy on Dussehra
By IANS
Dharamsala : Tibetan refugees here burnt an effigy of Chinese President Hu Jintao instead of Hindu mythological demon king Ravan on the occasion of Dussehra.
Activists of the Students For Free Tibet Movement dragged an effigy of Hu wrapped in the Chinese national flag through the streets of this Himachal Pradesh hill town late Sunday. They then set it ablaze and Hu's cracker-filled image was soon engulfed in flames.
The activists also shouted anti-Chinese slogans protesting alleged human rights violations in Tibet.
Protestors prevent officials from entering Posco site
By IANS
Bhubaneswar : Hundreds of protestors in Orissa Thursday prevented the police and officials from entering the site of a proposed mega steel plant of Posco-India, a subsidiary of Pohang Iron and Steel Co.
The protestors prevented the team of officials, led by district police chief B.K. Sharma, from entering the proposed Posco plant site at Balitutha village in Jagatsinghpur district, some 120 km from state capital Bhubaneswar. Two groups, one opposing the project and the other supporting it, organised rallies near the site Thursday.
Publisher apologises for putting Prophet’s picture in book
By IANS
Kolkata : Vijay Goel, who published a book on India's former president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, which contains a picture of Prophet Mohammed, has apologised for it.
"It was not a deliberate act," he said in a letter to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya Tuesday.
Local reports said the New Delhi-based publisher also mentioned in the letter that he had already asked distributors to withdraw all copies of the book from the market.
Kolkata book fair cancelled, symbolic one held
By IANS
Kolkata : Book lovers are sad and angry following the Calcutta High Court's cancellation of the 33rd Kolkata Book Fair on environmental grounds. However, a symbolic fair was inaugurated in the city's Town Hall Tuesday night, high on polemics but sans books.
The symbolic book fair was inaugurated in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya at the Town Hall to salvage a semblance of prestige before the foreign delegates.
But the ire of the city's political guardians against the judges was apparent.
Story of ‘Spy Princess’ hits bookstores in paperback version
By IANS
New Delhi : Indian history abounds in lores of brave women who sacrificed themselves to protect the honour of the country, clan, family and personal dignity. But rarely has a woman of Indian origin defended a foreign country and allowed herself to be tortured and shot to death by enemy forces - not out of compulsion, but out of choice.
Tamils ignore government fiat, celebrate New Year
By IANS,
Chennai : Even as several major temples "obeyed" the diktat of the Tamil Nadu government and avoided special worship, the laity here celebrated Tamil New Year with usual gaiety Sunday.
Just as the biggest Hindu Shiva temple in Mylapore area here allowed people to offer special prayers, the famed Vishnu shrine at Srirangam, 300 km south of Chennai and considered a "heaven on earth", celebrated the occasion with pomp.
The Meenakshi Amman temple at Madurai, 400 km south of here, steered clear of controversy and avoided any special prayer.
Arab literature takes centre stage in London
By Susannah Tarbush,
When Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz became in 1988 the first (and so far only) Arab writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, it was hoped that this would lead to a major breakthrough for Arab literature in the West, including Britain. But for years such a breakthrough remained elusive.
Fire destroys mausoleum of 20th century Kashmiri poet
By IANS,
Srinagar : The mausoleum of 20th century Kashmiri poet and Sufi saint Suchh Kral was destroyed in a fire in south Kashmir Friday.
The police said the fire broke out in the morning at the old timber structure over the poet's grave in Inder village of Pulwama district, 45 km north of Srinagar.
"Before fire tenders could control the blaze, the wooden structure was completely gutted," a police officer said here.
Shivaji monument in Arabian Sea
By IANS,
Mumbai : An imposing statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji will come up one kilometre away in the Arabian Sea in the bay between Malabar Hill and Nariman Point in south Mumbai.
The decision to install the statue at this site, along with other tourist attractions, was taken at a high-level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh Monday.
The statue will be visible from the entire "Queen's Necklace" - the Marine Drive - the promenade from Nariman Point to Malabar Hill.
Funeral rites under way for dissident writer Solzhenitsyn
By DPA,
Moscow : The funeral was held for dissident Soviet writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn Wednesday ahead of his burial at Moscow's 16th century Donskoy Monastery.
Several hundred people crowded the vaulted church where white-gowned priests chanted and swung thuribles, or incense-burners, over his open coffin.
Solzhenitsyn, remembered as Russia's moral conscience for his unflinching exposes on the horrors of the Soviet prison camps, died Sunday aged 89.
Period jewellery returns as collectors’ delights in art bazaar
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Kingships may have long gone but the shine of royal jewels endure. With the business of art logging an upswing over the last five years, period jewellery is now back in popular reckoning, especially in India, dubbed the cradle of traditional jewellery.
Firecrackers costlier, less noisy this Diwali
By IANS,
Chennai : Be ready to shell out more this Diwali for firecrackers whose prices have shot up 35 percent compared to last year. But the festival may well be a visual delight with more colour and less sound in Tamil Nadu due to stiff regulations on decibel levels.
"Following orders of the Supreme Court, local authorities including the police have ensured that crackers should not exceed a sound limit of 125 decibels. For those who love a bit of peace and quiet, this Diwali will be a welcome damp squib," said A.B. Reddy, a resident in the Poes Gardens area here.
Neemrana Foundation brings Verdi’s famous opera to Delhi
By IANS,
New Delhi : One of Italy's most popular operas "Violetta, a Traviata", a three-act musical drama by Guissppe Verdi, was performed here by a crossover cast of Indian and European artistes and drew a packed house.
The opera, inspired by Alexander Dumas' play "Lady of the Camellias", was brought to the Shri Ram Centre for Arts in the national capital by Rajasthan-based Neemrana Music Foundation.
Scottish team in Kolkata to restore 200-year-old cemetery
By IANS,
Kolkata : An eight-member team of conservationists from Scotland has flown into this city to restore its 200-year-old Scottish Cemetery, a relic of British rule, with at least 1,800 graves.
The team from the Scottish Heritage Society, which arrived here Sunday night, is led by Edinburgh-based conservation architect James Simpson.
The conservationists are in the country at the behest of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), the Kolkata Scottish Heritage Trust and the Church of North India (CNI), which administers Protestant churches.
Art brings Rs.40 mn relief to Bihar flood victims
By IANS,
New Delhi : Art has brought Rs.40 million for flood victims of Bihar.
Thirty-one leading contemporary artists brought together by Subodh Gupta and Bharati Kher have raised more than Rs.39.3 million through the Artists' Flood Relief Charity Auction held Nov 11-12 by Saffronart.
The proceeds from the charity auction will benefit two NGOs, Samajik Shaikshanik Vikas Kendra (SSVK) and Goonj to support their flood relief work, a press statement issued by Saffronart said.
Nature and colours merge on canvas
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Pune-based artist Madhuri Bhaduri is inspired by the bright shades of nature, which seep into her works in vivid patches of oil paint.
The artist showed her works at the Romain Rolland Gallery at the Allaince Francaise in the capital March 28-31 in a solo exhibition titled "Madhuri Bhaduri - The Theme - In backdrop - On Canvas". It was presented by Ragini Gallery.
On show, Cuban artist’s love affair with India
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : It's the country's first brush with the works of late Cuban writer-painter Severo Sarduy. An exhibition of paintings, photographs and artefacts here documents his fascination with India and the orient. "The East of Severo Sarduy" has come to Delhi for a month after travelling to international cities like Madrid, Paris, Tangier, Tetuan and Rabat.
Art market looking up – India Art Summit proves it
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : After a year that saw a price drop of at least 30 percent across all segments of modern and contemporary art and a purge of inferior products, the Indian art market is looking up again, say organisers of the India Art Summit 2009 in a post-fair review.
According to Neha Kirpal, associate director of the India Art Summit, galleries raked in nearly Rs.26 crore ($5.2 million) from sales --about 50 percent of the Rs.50 crore worth of art on offer. The footfalls, said Kirpal, stood at 5,000 on day one and touched 40,000 by the last day.
‘The Hurt Locker’ an uncomfortable reminder of how little humans have evolved
By Mayank Chhaya, IANS,
If the largely fictional archetypal caveman can be dated back to the Neanderthal 30,000 years ago, then the movie "The Hurt Locker" is an embarrassing reminder about how little the human race has traveled since then.
Britain, India working to conserve culture: British Museum director
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's culture ministry and the British Museum are working closely to conserve Indian art, architecture and traditional textiles, says director of the museum Neil MacGregor.
He is part of the British cultural delegation touring India with Prime Minister David Cameron.
A quick look at India’s 2010 art gallery
By IANS,
New Delhi : Here's a look at what made news in Indian art in 2010:
- Anish Kapoor Retrospective at National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mehboob Studio (Delhi, Mumbai)
Indian comedian makes Pakistanis laugh
By IANS,
Karachi : Indian stand-up comedian Sanjay Rajoura had Pakistanis in splits as he cracked jokes on India's obsession with Sachin Tendulkar and how to win friendship of female students.
‘Mighty Heart’ Irrfan on cloud nine
By Subhash K. Jha
IANSMumbai : The screening of Michael Winterbottom's "A Mighty Heart" at Cannes Film Festival was an emotional experience for Irrfan Khan who plays the head of a Pakistani counter-terrorism unit in the film.
Heritage of four Indian towns among 100 most endangered
By Ashish Mehta
IANSNew Delhi : The cultural and architectural heritage of four Indian towns now figure on a list of the 100 most endangered sites in the world.
New York to host world Hindi meet from Friday
By IANS
New York : Poet-filmmaker Gulzar and director Jagmohan Mundhra will be among 1,000 Hindi lovers and scholars at the eighth World Hindi Conference in New York from Friday.
Ramachandra Guha, Hosseini emerge as favourites again
By IANS
New Delhi : Ramachandra Guha and Khaled Hosseini continue to be hot reader favourites this week with their respective books "India After Gandhi" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" topping the best-selling lists yet again.
Portugal becomes world’s seventh oldest nation
By Xinhua
Lisbon : Portugal has become the world's seventh oldest nation due to a falling birth rate and a rising proportion of senior citizens, the country's National Statistical Agency has said.
On average, a Portuguese woman has 1.36 children during her fertile years, down from the previous 1.41, the agency said in its latest report Wednesday.
The birth rate has been falling for 20 years. If the trend continues as it is, the nation will lose a quarter of its population by 2050, and will have a net population of 7.5 million people, according to the report.
Potter mania strikes at dawn
By IANS
New Delhi : Snaking queues, excited faces and an electric atmosphere. For the thousands of Potter fans across the country the moment they have been long waiting for has finally arrived - "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", the seventh edition of the Harry Potter series, has been released early Saturday morning.
Book shops opened at 6.30 a.m. to cash in on the Potter mania as parents and children lined up to buy what its author J.K. Rowling said was the final edition of the Potter series.
Terror attack at Pakistan Potter launch foiled
By DPA
Islamabad : Pakistani police defused a car bomb outside a shopping centre in Karachi hours before the scheduled launch of the latest Harry Potter book there, officials said Saturday.
"We got to know about the bomb on Friday night when an anonymous caller warned us that it was planted in a car parked outside the Park Tower, "Senior Superintendent Police Azad Khan told DPA.
"The bomb contained 10 kgs of RDX, connected to a remote controlled detonator," he said.
States asked to organise events to mark 60th I Day
By IANS
New Delhi : The central government Friday asked states to organise commemorative functions at the grassroots level to mark the 150th anniversary of the country's first war of Independence and the 60th anniversary of Independence in order to familiarise the youth with history.
New Delhi : The central government Friday asked states to organise commemorative functions at the grassroots level to mark the 150th anniversary of the country's first war of Independence and the 60th anniversary of Independence in order to familiarise the youth with history.
Delhi boy pens a book at 15
By IANS
New Delhi : Looks can be deceptive. That is what one realises on meeting 15-year-old Ronen Chatterjee who is one of the youngest Indian authors of English fiction.
Ronen is the author of "Fire Within", a book that traces the fictional story of three generations of the Roys -- Rohan, his son Rohit and his grandson Raj and their fascination, addiction and dedication towards tennis.
"I started writing the book at 13 and since it is released on my 15th birthday it feels like going back to my roots," Ronen said at the launch of his book Tuesday.
‘Sexists’ vs ‘blondes’ in Sweden’s murder mystery war
By DPA
Stockholm : A war of words of extraordinary nastiness has erupted among Sweden's internationally successful crime writers just as the summer holidays are getting into full swing.
While innumerable bookworms on beaches, in hammocks or hotel beds are leafing through the new and virtually always weighty murder mysteries by Henning Mankell, Liza Marklund or Ake Edvardsson, the authors of the Scandinavian bestsellers are accusing each other of either not knowing how to write or of being miserable dogs in the manger.
Abe to release book on Tagore’s speeches in Japan
By IANS
Kolkata : Almost 66 years after his death, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore's speeches delivered in Japan have been published in the form of a book that will be released by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his visit here Thursday.
The 250-page book is titled "Talks in Japan". Tagore had visited Japan five times between 1916 and 1924 and wanted to see his speeches in print. He had even requested Prasanta Mahalonobis, the famous scientist who served as his secretary for sometime, to publish them.
Husain solo show called off after threats
By IANS
New Delhi : Eminent painter M.F. Husain's solo show in the capital, his first after 19 years, was abruptly called off following alleged threats by Hindu fundamentalists over his nude depiction of Hindu goddesses. A decision to re-start the exhibition could be taken Sunday, officials said.
The limited edition graphic prints exhibition at the India International Centre (IIC), titled 'India in the era of the Mughals', was called off Friday afternoon.
Spotlight on Russia as book fair begins
By IANS
New Delhi : Melodious strains of Russian folk music and the echo of literary giants like Tolstoy and Pushkin floated in the air on a chilly Saturday morning as nine days of literary feast began at the 18th World Book Fair here.
The spotlight is on Russian publishing and books as Russia has been anointed the guest of honour at the mega book fair at Pragati Maidan in which over 1,300 publishers from 23 countries are participating.
Advani, Jethmalani to attend new Sindhi movie screening
By IANS
Mumbai : Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani and jurist Ram Jethmalani are among the prominent members of the Sindhi community who will attend a special screening of a movie called "The Awakening" at the Films Division auditorium in New Delhi March 9.
The movie, directed by Dharambir Kumar, traces the lineage of the Sindhis from the time of the Indus Valley Civilisation, though it is not a documentary on the community.
F.N. Souza’s painting fetches $380,000 in Dubai sale
By Uma Nair, IANS
Dubai : New York-based F.N. Souza's 1955 work "The Elder" sold at an estimated value of $240,000-300,000, one of the highlights of the Bonham's Dubai auction, at the Royal Mirage Hotel, sold for $380,000, excluding buyer's premium and tax.
Founder of India's Progressive Artists' movement in 1947, Souza is renowned worldwide as an articulate genius, augmenting his disturbing and powerful canvases with his sharp, stylish and provocative prose.
Pandit Ravi Shankar toasts latest celebrity in brood
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS
New Delhi : At 88, sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar is beset with several tasks - writing a new concerto for daughter Anoushka, adding a new chapter to his autobiography, an impending trip to California and toasting wife Sukanya's US-based sister who is a first-time novelist.
Indian literary works to be translated into Arabic
By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS
Abu Dhabi : A project to translate major Indian literary works into Arabic is on the anvil as part of India's efforts to project its soft power in the Gulf.
"We propose to translate major Indian literary works - fiction, non-fiction and poetry - into Arabic as part of our larger vision to improve ties in the cultural area in the Gulf," India's Ambassador to the UAE Talmiz Ahmad told IANS.
Around 20 to 50 Indian titles are being planned to be translated a year in the next couple of years.
Over 7, 000 poets from 22 countries to take part in the contest in...
By WAM,
Abu Dhabi : The organisers of the Prince of Poets Contest, have received 7, 000 entries from 22 countries when the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage announced receiving entries for the second edition of the poets competition in 2008.
The closing date for receiving the applications was April 13.
Indian art attracts over $1.7 mn in Sotheby’s spring auctions (Lead)
By IANS,
New York : Works by Indian artists Subodh Gupta, Anish Kapoor, T.V. Santosh, Chintan Upadhyay, Riyas Komu, Raqib Shaw and Bose Krishnamachari attracted high prices at Sotheby's spring series of contemporary art auctions here, exceeding expectations with the total sale amounting to $1,748,500.
The highlight of the May 14-15 auctions was a work by Gupta, one of the most important contemporary artists to emerge from India in a generation. His "Saat Samunder Paar VII" fetched $825,000, a record for the artist at auction.
Christie’s Hong Kong sale to feature 27 Indian works
By IANS,
Hong Kong : Christie's spring 2008 sales of Asian contemporary art in Hong Kong May 24-25 will feature a selection of 27 significant works by Indian artists along with those of their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea.
The inaugural evening sale of Asian contemporary art on May 24 is a first for the category worldwide and an eagerly-awaited new element to the sale series in Hong Kong this season.
We changed India’s perception of Pakistani music: Strings
By Radhika Bhirani, IANS,
New Delhi : Pakistani band Strings, known for its chartbusters like "Duur" and "Dhaani", feels it has to an extent changed how Indians perceive Pakistani music, and stresses that music, like cricket, goes a long way in bringing the two countries closer together.
"If we talk about the change in the way our (Pakistani) music is perceived in India, yes, we have played a role in it," Faisal Kapadia, the band's lead vocalist, told IANS.
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