Art/Culture

By IANS, New Delhi : External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and League of Arab States Secretary General Amre Moussa will jointly inaugurate a six-day cultural event Tuesday, being held here to celebrate the age-old relations between India and the Arab world. The Arab league chief, who arrived in Delhi Sunday, will hold talks with Mukherjee Tuesday morning and later call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

By IANS, Amritsar : Amritsar's Gobindgarh Fort, built in 1760 and associated with the Sikh warrior king Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was Monday formally handed over by the army authorities to the civil administration here. The fort was in the army's possession from the British times for nearly 150 years. The British authorities had put the fort under the army possession in 1849. The fort had been named after the 10th Sikh guru, Gobind Singh, by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

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.”

By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS New Delhi : Master abstractionist Ambadas has brought back a slice of the creative '60s to the capital with his new cache 'Sublime Encounters', a series of bright colourful forms that defy artistic conventions and limitations of figurative art. The show, on till Feb 15 at the Delhi Art Gallery, revives memories of the fabled 'GROUP 1890', a "rag-tag" army of artistic rebels, who rejected convention for creativity.

By IANS, New Delhi : Not everyone can become a cartoonist, prominent caricaturist Sudhir Tailang says, even as he maintains the profession will never die out. "Not everyone can become a cartoonist. Only those who have a blend of creativity and a personal opinion of the world and can present this vision with humour can succeed," Tailang said. Despite the lack of youngsters in the profession, Tailang was confident that the art of cartooning would never die out.

By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS Dubai : Just over four years ago, Benny used to eke out a living as a musician playing the guitar as a church choir member in Kochi once a week. Around the same time, Muthu, a flautist, made a living playing as an amateur artiste for different groups in Thrissur. And in the case of Jaimon, a tabla player from Alappuzha, it was a story of late night functions playing for a small three-piece band and then catching public transport to somehow reach home and fall asleep.

By IANS, London : Indian artist Syed Haider Raza's "La Terre" has fetched a record $2.5 million at Christie's Post War sale here. The leading highlight "La Terre", a work done as far back as 1973 by Raza (b.1922), one of India's leading modern artists, sold for 1,273,250 pounds (over $2.5 million) setting a new record Sunday. Three works by Subodh Gupta were unable to set any records against the high pressure bidding of international favourites, said a bidder in London who felt that Gupta has been hyped by market conditions.

By IANS, Bhubaneswar: Sudarsan Patnaik, who won a special prize in Moscow for a sand sculpture of the Taj Mahal, was greeted by hundreds on his return Saturday to his Puri hometown in Orissa. "The 15-foot high Taj Mahal created by me at the Kolomenskoe Museum Reserve in Moscow won a special prize," Patnaik told IANS by phone from Puri, 56 km from here. "There were 10 participants from around the world in the World Sand Sculpture Championship Moscow, 2009 held from 30 April-May 7." Hundreds of people greeted the artist when he returned home.

By Jaideep Sarin, IANS,

By IANS, Agra : Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's 353rd urs (death anniversay) is being celebrated at the Taj Mahal here with prayers for ending terrorism. The three-day celebrations began Tuesday with customary fanfare and rituals. Entry to the 17th century monument of love build by Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal is free from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the urs days. Authorities have made "foolproof" security arrangements to ensure orderly conduct of the urs and crowd management.

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.

New Delhi : Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said the country is deeply concerned at the "blatant violation" of right to freedom...

By Mohammed Shafeeq, IANS Hyderabad : Indians in the United States can now listen to their favourite Bollywood content on Asian FM with the US radio station entering into an arrangement with BIG 92.7 FM, India's largest FM radio station. Beginning Sep 1, BIG FM will syndicate its non-music content to Asian FM. This is being billed as one of the most strategic tie-ups in the radio industry in India.

By IANS, London : The northeastern British city of Durham is all lit up, thanks to a light festival that has an Indian flavour. Lighting techniques from Kolkata have been used to creatively illuminate the Framwellgate Bridge. The "Enlightenment: Durham International Light Festival" was switched on Thursday night, with four of the city's landmark bridges illuminated. Initiated by Durham City Arts, with support from Durham City Vision, the festival is part of their 'Culture10's East08' - a celebration of contemporary Asian culture. It lasts till this weekend.

Thiruvananthapuram: Gender empowerment should start from our homes to achieve our goals at the societal level, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said on Saturday. "We...

New York: Indian film maestro Satyajit Ray is among the 16 global thinkers whose portraits have been displayed here at the UN art exhibition...

By IANS, Kuala Lumpur : Indian origin playwright Arun Subramaniam will next week stage a politically charged drama that explores the suffering of a Malaysian Tamil politician's family after he is assassinated. The drama is set in a middle-class Tamil household in a small northern Malaysian town. The play is being staged by Firstworks playwriting banner, a programme aimed at nurturing a new generation of Malaysian writers with different voices and visions.

By Madhushree Chatrtterjee, IANS, New Delhi : The booming art market in India has all it takes to maintain the growth momentum, barring one prerequisite - accessibility to quality books on the subject. But the gap is being filled and the country's first art bookstore, the Vadehra Bookstore, which opened shutters Friday in an upend locality in the capital, has brought literature, catalogues, texts and anthologies related to art under one roof - and much more.

By IANS, Chandigarh : Craftsmen from India will vie with artisans from nearly a dozen countries as the popular Surajkund fair, beginning on the outskirts of the Indian capital Feb 1, adds a new chapter to its colourful history. Getting into an international mode from this year, the crafts fair at Surajkund in Haryana's Faridabad district will have participation from Egypt, Thailand and Brazil. Also participating in the annual event, held during Feb 1-15, will be all SAARC countries - Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, besides host India.

By TCN News, London: Minorities and indigenous peoples have been among the last to benefit from the rapid growth of Asia’s cities, according to Minority...

By Manish Chand, IANS, Kuwait : Cultural diplomacy was in full flow here, as India and Kuwait Tuesday signed three agreements to promote a two-way traffic of their scholars, artists, scientists and researchers with Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari waxing eloquent about the fabled aquarium and traditional Kuwaiti handicrafts. India's soft power in the Gulf region, which is reflected in its 4.5 million Indian diaspora and the huge popularity of Indian films, is set to be in spotlight when it hosts a mini-cultural festival in Kuwait later this year.

By IANS Kolkata : Durga Puja, the biggest carnival of Bengalis, is all set to go eco-friendly this year with a prominent body of the priests ordering its members to perform the rituals sans plastic. Vaidik Pandit O Purohit Mahamilan Kendra, an organisation of priests performing pujas, issued the diktat to all its members in West Bengal, urging them not to use plastic in any form while performing the prayer rituals.

By IANS New Delhi : Delhi readers obviously can't get enough of Ramachandra Guha's "India After Gandhi" and Mohsin Hamid's "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" with the two books continuing as bestsellers. The top 10 in the non-fiction and fiction categories this week are: Non-Fiction 1. "India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy" Author : Ramachandra Guha Publisher : Picador India Price : Rs.695.00 2. "India's Unending Journey: Finding Balance in a Time of Change" Author : Mark Tully Publisher : Rider Price : Rs.450.00

By IANS,

By IANS New Delhi : The publishers of the popular Harry Potter series of books by British author J.K. Rowling have launched a major initiative to combat piracy prior to the release of its final instalment in India this month. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is due to be published around the world on July 21 and the book is expected to go on sale 6.30 a.m. that day in Indian bookshops, according a press release issued by Penguin India and Bloomsbury Publishing Thursday. The publishers have already garnered an advance booking of 240,000 copies in India alone.

By IANS, Kuala Lumpur : Memories of the time when the Malaysian and Indian governments lifted a ban on trade of peacock feathers, just for 24 hours, to facilitate a dance performance still brings a smile to the face of legendary dancer Vatsala. As she and her late husband prepared for the 'peacock dance', they felt a need to replace the old feathers. It was however illegal to take them out of India, peacock being the country's national bird.

By TCN Staff Reporter New Delhi: A delay in political clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs for travelling abroad left Abdul Bari...

By Madhusree Chatterjee,IANS, New Delhi : A variety of art shows were opened this week in the national capital even as India finalised plans for the second edition of its official art fair, which will be held in 2009. Summit summons The curtain has just gone up on the blueprint for the second edition of the India Art Summit 2009, which will be held in the national capital in August next year.

By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS New Delhi : Imagine looking at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad in all its colours, all its glory as seen by a flying kite - and capturing it all on camera. That is exactly what French photographer Nicolas Chorier, whose work is currently on display at an exhibition here, has done. Chorier is a "kite photographer". No, he doesn't fly up with the kite to take photographs. He uses the kite to lift the camera while monitoring the visuals on a screen on the ground. And then he clicks, clicks and clicks.

By IANS,

By IANS

New Delhi : Culture and Tourism Minister Ambika Soni Friday cast her vote to include the 17th century architectural wonder Taj Mahal in the coveted list of 'New Seven Wonders of the World', saying it would "boost tourism" in India.