Amboli Trip report and snaps

An attempt by a friend - Animish Mandrekar - to put forward what he clicked during his recent 3 day trip to Amboli.

Please click the below link for view his blog:

http://amphibicexperienceinamboli.blogspot.com/

Do click on the link, there are some beautiful photos of amphibians that are rarely captured or photographed.

An evening in Mumbai

Hindu Business Line

…or a daylong discovery of Chennai — organised must-sees minus the hassles.

---

By engaging locals, they get invaluable “insider” information as well.

---

Shaju John

Inside a city: Catamaran at the Marina Beach

Vijaysree Venkatraman

There are tour operators galore cashing in on the travel boom to our photogenic country, but few have taken up the formidable challenge of ensuring clients a tourism-rich experience. Filter Coffee Tours hopes to make a difference with services that help well-heeled international visitors experience the subcontinent’s colour and complexity, minus the customary hiccups.

Back in 2004, Zuleika Nazneen, an HR professional and Deepa Krishnan, a banking consultant, formed a company to offer customised tours for business travellers to Chennai. They realised they had a niche market as overseas clients — with a weekend or evenings to spare — turned to them for advice on local must-sees and places to go gift-shopping for friends and family back home. Soon they began catering to other high-end travellers looking for premium tours in the chaotic metro.

Hardly anyone in the business sees the city as little more than a gateway to the real tourist spots which lie further afield. But Zuleika, who requisitions vehicles from her husband’s travel agency, successfully hunts for new places of interest — as a counterpoint to the not-to-be-missed ancient temples of Chennai. And Deepa recently created Mumbai Magic. Both entrepreneurs are conceptualising creative tours that afford quiet moments of discovery in metros where the frenetic pace of life can unsettle the uninitiated visitor.

Mumbai Magic

An antiques shop in Mumbai.

Mumbai offers a kaleidoscope of experiences for anyone who is willing to venture into the narrow and crowded alleys of the city’s various marketplaces. “But my clients will always get more than an offbeat shopping experience even at places like Chor Bazaar,” says Deepa. This tour of the “thieves market” begins at Mutton Street, which is flanked by antique shops selling cuckoo clocks, gramophones and other bric-a-brac. Further, every side-street has its speciality product — perfumes, kebabs and what have you.

The guides have been specially trained to point out aspects that visitors would otherwise miss out — the neighbourhood mosque with the marzipan colours, the pastel shades the Bohri Muslim women dress in as opposed to black burqas< /em>, and other minutiae that make the place distinctive. Even as they walk away with decent bargains, the visitors get a quick primer on Islam as it is practised in that corner of the city.

Woven into every tour narrative is the story of how Mumbai became this bustling cosmopolitan city from its humble beginnings as a fishing village. The cultural diversity is evident in everyday lives. Besides, the city’s calendar is full of festivals, many of which involve exuberant public celebrations.

And there are other finds. In the winter months, Mumbai is home to half a million birds, a fact which even long-time residents are unaware of. Flamingos, a good quarter-lakh of them, make their colourful appearance in Sewri Bay tucked away amidst tall buildings, slums, and open dumping grounds.

On your feet

Paul Noronha

Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations

Tours for smaller groups — less than six people— include bazaar walks, heritage district walks and boat tours, minus car service costs. The Cuisine Tour, a special treat for foodies, is new on the menu. A Cricket Tour is also on the cards in both Mumbai and Chennai.

Deepa and Zuleika pay their multilingual guides — five in Mumbai and three in Chennai — handsomely. They also promote responsible tourism and try to ensure that some of the money generated trickles into the neighbourhood. By engaging locals in their business, they get invaluable “insider” information as well.

On the whole one wonders if it is easier to sell Mumbai, which also gets a greater share of international visitors. Chennai does have a reputation of being a staid city, says the bubbly Zuleika, but visitors delight in everything it has to offer. “For many of them shopping for silks in Usman Road, buying trinkets on the sidewalks in Pondy Bazaar or just crossing the roads becomes an adventure,” she adds.

But there is more. The truly daring can go on a catamaran ride at dawn. These boats are nothing more than logs of wood tied together and used by fishermen all along the Coromandel coast. Filter Coffee Tours also takes groups to watch kol am (flour-based painting) contests in Mylapore, a suburb which is even older than the city it is now a part of.

Living traditions

S.R. Raghunathan

Kolam festival in Chennai

Many aspects of our culture that we consider commonplace could be fascinating for the visitor if the significance behind these living traditions is researched and presented well, says Deepa. Nor does she believe in confining her operations to familiar cities — the ones she grew up or worked in. So the capital New Delhi — with the Taj Mahal as a day trip — has been added on.

Drawing up imaginative tours involves researching facts and asking people the right questions. “That is how you find the legends and stories,” says Deepa. A three-generation-blog — http://www.mumbai-magic.blogspot.com — which she maintains together with her mother and her teenaged daughter, is a fount of information on various communities, cuisines and locales in Mumbai. “I can’t wait to come to India, and try all this,” says a visitor to the blog.

14 Sep : Music Concert_ SIGNUM QUARTETT

Not sure of the Location details. Please call your local Max Mueller Bhavan / Goethe Institut

Max Mueller Bhavan/ Goethe-Institut

an collaboration with

SPIC MACAY

presents

Signum Quartett

String quartets covering three centuries: from Joseph Haydn to Jörg Widmann

Saturday, 8 September 2007
6.30 p.m.
The Seminar Hall
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)

New Delhi

** Passes available at Max Mueller Bhavan reception on first-come-first-serve

Signum Quartett
Kerstin Dill (violin)
Annette Walther (violin)
Simon Tandree (viola)
Thomas Schmitz (cello)

Following successful performances in Chennai and Puducherry in 2006, the internationally renowned Signum Quartett now embarks on an extensive tour of South Asia at the invitation of the Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan. The programme for the concert in Delhi will include pieces by Schumann and Haydn and will feature the first violin quartet by the young German composer Jörg Widman.

The Signum Quartett received its first lessons from Konrad Grahe. Shortly after its founding, the quartet was awarded 1st prize in Germany's 1994 nationwide youth competition Jugend musiziert and a prize at the Charles Hennen Concours in 1997. They continued their studies with the Melos and Alban Berg quartets. Masterclasses with György Kurtàg, Tabea Zimmermann, the Artemis quartet as well as with members of the Amadeus, Smetana, Cherubini, and the LaSalle Quartets were further inspirations.

In the framework of the summer academy Prague-Vienna-Budapest in 1999, the Signum Quartett received the Thomastik Infeld prize which enabled the four musicians to record a live CD in Vienna. The ensemble was awarded scholarships from the chamber music foundation Villa Musica and the Werner Richard- Dr. Carl Dörken foundation, the "Freunde junger Musiker Düsseldorf/Meerbusch" and the Bruno-Frey-Stiftung. In 2004, the Signum Quartett won the nationwide German Musikwettbewerb and the special award of Zonta International. At the previous Musikwettbewerb competition in 2000, they received a scholarship and the special prize of the Rheingau music festival.

The Signum Quartett performed extensively in Barcelona and Madrid, at the Schubertiada a Vilbertran in Spain, at the Ludwigsburger Festspiele festival, the Oberstdorfer Musiksommer, the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Salon of the Arts in Sofia, and at the Rheingau music festival. Their concerts were broadcast nationally and internationally, by the WDR, NDR, SWR, BR, Deutschlandfunk, DRS, and ORF radios. Following an initiative by the Villa Musica foundation, the four musicians were invited to record a CD with the SWR radio. The programme juxtaposes works by Schumann and Haydn with the world premiere recording of Jörg Widmann's first string quartet.

Concert programme
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): String Quartet in D major, op.76, No.5 (1797)
Jörg Widmann (born in 1973): String Quartet No.1 (1997)
Robert Schumann (1810-1856): String Quartet in A major, op. 41/3 (1842)


Tourplan South Asia

03.09. 2007 Karachi
05.09. 2007 Lahore
07.09. 2007 Jaipur
08.09. 2007 New Delhi
10.09. 2007 Dhaka
12.09. 2007 Kolkata
14.09. 2007 Mumbai
17.09. 2007 Hyderabad
19.09. 2007 Bangalore
21.09. 2007 Chennai
23.09. 2007 Colombo

1 & 2 Sep : The Photography Exhibition 'Vanyasrushti-Thane 2007'

Rotary Club of Thane's

Here on Project Environment

Sahayog Mandir, 2^nd Floor, Sahayog Mandir Path, Ghantali, Thane (W) - 400 601

'HOPE' ( Here on Project Environment), a Thane based voluntary organization working in the field of environmental education, awareness and conservation organises a photography exhibition of selected photographs from Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary.

Photography Exhibition 'Vanyasrushti-Thane 2007'

Venue: Sahayog Mandir, 2nd floor, Sahyog Mandir Path, Off Ghantali, Naupada, Thane(W)

Date & Time: On Saturday 1 ^st September, between 11 am to 9 pm

On Sunday 2^nd September, between 9 am to 9 pm

The exhibition is open for all & entry is free.

For details please contact: Event Coordinators;

Rajendra Gosavi: , Rajesh Sachdev: , Yuwaraj Gurjar:

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PEN : Save the Dates: September 8th (Prithvi) & 13th (Theosophy Hall)

From: PEN India

The PEN All-India Centre, Mumbai invites you, with you friends, to two events this September:

8 September

THE FLOWERING OF ATTENTION

A presentation on and readings from J Krishnamurti's teachings

Date: 8 September, 2007 (Saturday)

Time: 6.30 pm

Place: Prithvi House, 1^st Floor (Opp. Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu)

ENTRY IS FREE

13 September

POETRY READING

by Hyderabad-based poet Sridala Swami from her debut collection A Reluctant Survivor

Date: 13 September, 2007 (Thursday)

Time: 6.15 pm

Place: Theosophy Hall, 3^rd Floor, 40 New Marine Lines, Churchgate, Mumbai.

ENTRY IS FREE

*

Sampurna Chattarji

Member, Executive Committee,

The PEN All-India Centre, Mumbai

{whazzupmumbai} Sep 1 - Sep 16 : The Great Crossword Sale - exclusive preview

From: Crossword Book Rewards

There's something for everyone at our Sale. And even more for you. Dear Book Rewards Member, As our privileged customer, you get a special preview of what's on offer a day ahead of everyone else. The 31st of August has been exclusively marked out so you can take your pick from our fabulous range. There are great offers on books, movies, music and CD-ROMs! What's more, you also get a special 20% off on regular books and an additional 5% off on all sale offer books, a few of which are mentioned below. DK Encyclopedia of Science Cover price: Rs 595/- Our price: Rs 499/- Explore and explain the world around you with the ultimate guide to science and technology. Discover the amazing secrets of science from comets to cyclones and rockets to reptiles. Find out how scientific processes work and carry out experiments of your own. Containing fully cross-referenced topics, this encyclopedia is perfect for homework or projects. Still Reading Khan Cover price: Rs 2995/- Our price: Rs 1999/- This book is the tale of SRK's journey that led him from a suburban housing colony in New Delhi into the homes, hearts and minds of innumerable fans all over the world, a journey that transcended boundaries of nations, and the artificial barriers of culture. The book is the story of a survivor, a winner, a never-ending story of success. Phoenix Poetry Series Cover price: Rs 300/- Our price: Rs 149/- A wonderful selection of poems from classic poets such as William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling and many more. The Complete Richard Templar Cover price: Rs 900/- Our price: Rs 695/- A set of 4 books that showcase Richard Templar's personal, practical rules for dreaming, planning and overcoming even life's toughest adversities. For knowing what matters, learning from experience, using your intuition, staying younger and getting stronger. Rules of Work Rules of Life Rules of Management & Rules of Wealth 501 Must Visit Destinations Cover price: Rs 795/- Our price: Rs 599/- 501 Must Visit Destinations is an invaluable source of inspiration for intrepid travelers seeking their next adventure or relaxing getaway for anyone who wants to experience new landscapes and cultures. Penguin Classics- Buy 3 for the price of 2 Cover price: Rs 90/- (each) Our price: Rs 60/- (each) Timeless works of literature, featuring authors like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde and many others. Do drop by and enjoy these benefits before everyone else does. Warm regards, Aniyan Nair Head - Operations & Marketing Send this to your friends and colleagues In association with Special 20% off on regular books and an additional 5% off on sale offer books for Axis Bank Priority Banking, Debit and Credit card customers. Terms and conditions: Additional 5% off on sale offer books only. Special 20% off on regular books. Book Rewards cards and AXIS Bank cards cannot be clubbed together. Please carry your Book Rewards card to avail the special offers. Book Rewards points will not be awarded during the sale period. The above offers valid in Crossword Chennai and Vishakhapatnam only. Books I Magazines I Music I Movies I CD-ROMs I Toys I Stationery Ahmedabad Bangalore Chennai Ghaziabad Hyderabad Jaipur Kolkata Mumbai New Delhi Pune Vadodara Vishakhapatnam

Be a part in saving Mumbai's Botanical garden, popularly known as 'Rani Bagh'

Dear friends,

We, the undersigned nature lovers, have come together to form the Save Rani Bagh Botanical Garden Action Committee to protect 3177 trees in the 53-acre Jijamata Udyan, Mumbai, better known as Rani Bagh.

Recently publicized Municipal Corporation plans to "modernize" Rani Bagh, which is both a public botanical garden as well as a zoo, will necessitate large scale construction activity entailing tree felling and will make entry unaffordable for common citizens.

To raise awareness about this crucial issue we appeal to you to sign a petition at http://www.saveranibagh.org/cgi-bin/petition.cgi or visit our website http://www.saveranibagh.org. Your e-mail ID will be kept confidential. Please pass on this link to your friends.

We need to act urgently! Master plans for the "makeover" are reportedly ready.

We need your support! Please visit our website http://www.saveranibagh.org
and join us in our efforts.

For Save Rani Bagh Botanical Garden Action Committee
Dr. Usha Desai, Hutoxi Arethna, Neelima Kalgi, Katie Bagli, Dr. Shelia Tanna, Renee Vyas, Hutokshi Rustomfram, Shubhada Nikharge, Ajay Bijoor

Vikalp screening at Prithvi on Monday, 27th

VIKALP: Films for Freedom
In collaboration with Prithvi Theatre
Presents

SERUPPU (Footwear)
A Film by Amudhan R.P.

On

Monday, 27 th August, 7 PM
At Prithvi House,
Opp Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Mumbai 400049.

More information is available through

www.prithvitheatre.org / vikalp.prithvi@gmail.com


*ENTRY FREE, LIMITED SEATS.
*FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED BASIS.


SERUPPU (Footwear)
Amudhan R.P./India/2007/74 mins
In Tamil with English subtitles

The Presidential Order 1950: Para 3, by the Union Government of India,
states 'No person who professes a religion different from Hindu, shall be
deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste.'

Seruppu is a socio-cultural documentary on the lives of Catholic
Arundhatiyars (Dalits/harijans/untouchables) of Dharmanathapuram, an old
slum located at the heart of Tiruchirappalli in Tamilnadu, a southern state
in India.

The people of Dharmanathapuram are involved in making footwear, one of the
traditional caste based occupations within India.

To rephrase Para 3 of the Presidential Order 1950, Dalits or the people from
the 'lower castes' within the Indian caste system, who do not follow Hindu
religion (including those who have converted to Christianity or Islam), are
not considered as Scheduled Caste. They can't avail of the quota reserved
for the Scheduled Caste in jobs or educational institutions or any other
already non-existent support mechanism that is otherwise available to a
Scheduled Caste according to the Indian Constitution.

Besides, the upper caste Hindus who have converted to Christianity continue
to follow their caste based practices of discrimination, exclusiveness,
untouchability, and at times violence against their fellow Christians who
happen to be Dalits as well.

This film brings out the discrimination and struggle faced by the Catholic
Arundhatiyars of Dharmanathapuram who also face stiff competition from the
increasing mechanization of the modes of production in the footwear
manufacturing industry in the era of globalization.

About the Filmmaker
Amudhan R.P.(Director / Producer / Cameraperson / Editor) has been making
films since 1996 beginning with Leelavati. Seruppu is his most recent work
after Pee-The Shit and Notes From the Crematorium.
Amudhan is actively engaged with Marupakkam, a media action group based in
Madurai involved in organising regular screenings, video workshops and film
festivals. Marupakkam also organizes the Madurai Film Festival every year.

Awards/Festivals
Muvattupuzha Documentary Film Festival 2007, Kerala
Moving People Film Festival 2007, WSF,Kenya
VIBGYOR Documentary and Short Film Festival 2007, Kerala
Third Prize, Jeevika - South Asian Documentary Film Festival 2007 , New
Delhi

More information on the film available on

http://amudhanrp.blogspot.com/

26 Aug : Guru Purnima Celebration (Mumbai) by disciples of Sitar Maestro Pt. Arvind Parikh

From: Ramprapanna Bhattacharya

Hi All,

This is to invite you all to the event of Guru Purnima Celebration by disciples of Sitar Maestro Pt. Arvind Parikh. The detail of the event is given below:


Performing Artists: Ganesh Mohan, Ramprapanna Bhattacharya, Aswin Dalvi, Mehboob Nadeem , Tushar Bhatiya, Pulok Lahiri, Ramkrishna Das, Maruti Patil, Arshad Khan, among others.

Venue: P. L. Deshpande Kala Academy at the Ravindra Natya Mandir (4th Floor), Prabhadevi, Mumbai

Date: 26th of August 2007, Sunday
Occasion: 'Guru Purnima Celebration by disciples of Sitar Maestro Pt. Arvind Parikh'

Program Schedule

SESSION,1
Start Time :9:30am - 1:00 pm

Performers:

Nadheem, Shakeel, Arsahd (Vocal), Altaf, Rashid, Arshad (Sitar), Pulok Lahiri, Bhopal, Choudhari,

LUNCH BREAK, 1:00PM TO 2:30 PM

SESSION,2

Start Time : 2:45pm

Performers:
Ajit Kittor, Joshi, Amruta, Sarang, Rafiq, Tiwari (Vocal), Vandana, Maruti, Tushar Bhatia, Ashwin Dalvi, Ganesh Mohan, Ramprapanna, Ramkrishna Das (Vocal)

(Note: Please excuse me for giving the first/last names of the performing artists, as I got this list only.)

For more information, please drop an email to me.

Ramprapanna Bhattacharya
Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/vilayatkhani_gharana/Home.html

We do not get a second chance to make the first impression.

30 Aug - 2 Sep : I Cant Stop Loving You - The Ray Charles Musical

Kim

http://whazzupegypt.blogspot.com/

JOHNNIE WALKER LIVE PRESENTS THE SMASH HIT SHOW FROM LONDON'S WESTEND

I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU - THE RAY CHARLES MUSICAL

THE SHOW FEATURES A BIG BAND ENSEMBLE, DAZZLING DANCERS & PERFORMANCES OF
RAY'S TIMELESS CLASSICS

INCLUDING GEORGIA, HIT THE ROAD JACK, UNCHAIN MY HEART AND MANY MORE HITS!

VENUE: THE JAMSHED BHABHA AUDITORIUM NCPA MUMBAI AUGUST 30 TO SEPTEMBER 2,
2007

DATE TIME

AUG 30 7:30 P.M.
AUG 31 7:30 P.M.
SEP 01 4:00 P.M. & 8:00 P.M.
SEP 02 4:00 P.M. & 8:00 P.M.

DUE TO A HUGE DEMAND FOR TICKETS FOR THE
WEST END PRODUCTION "I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU - THE RAY CHARLES MUSICAL"

WE ARE UNABLE TO FURTHER ACCEPT OR ACTIVATE TICKET BOOKING OR BLOCKING
THROUGH THIS SITE.

INCONVENIENCE IS REGRETTED

TICKETS ARE PRICED AT Rs. 2000/- Rs.1000/- & Rs.500/-

PUBLIC SALE STARTS ON AUG 20 AT RYTHMN HOUSE (22842835) NCPA (22824567)
ST. ANDREWS AUDITORIUM BANDRA (W) (26459667) JOHNNIE WALKER SELECT BANDRA
(W) (26486367)
The Ray Charles Musical

http://oranjuice.net/events/view/3

24 aug : Meet Greg Roberts, Malavika Sangghvi & Anil Dharker at Crossword Kemps corn

From: Crossword Bookstores

If you can't read this message, please click here

Dear Book Rewards Member, It is always a pleasure to write to our special customers about a new event at Crossword. This time around, we bring you the following book reading & discussion at Crossword Kemps Corner. Join us for the reading & discussion on "The Making of Samovar" How a Mumbai Cafe became a metaphor for a generation by Usha Khanna. Topic of Discussion - "The value of spaces in a city that nurture and foster creative and intellectual discourse" . Panelists - Eminent Author Gregory Roberts, Noted Journalist Malavika Sangghvi & Columnist Anil Dharker Date & Time: Friday, 24th August 2007, 7.00pm. Venue: Crossword Kemps Corner About the book: 'The Making of Samovar' is about the making of Mumbai's legendary Cafe Samovar, that has served for over four decades as the watering hole, salon, dining hall and meeting place of its leading intellectuals and artists. Cafe Samovar has been the hotbed of creativity, nurturing artistic genius and providing an environment for the growth of some of the greatest names in the arts in India. Nestled on a humble corridor in the Jehangir Art gallery, Mumbai's premiere art institution, Samovar - through its proprietress the indefatigable Usha Khanna - has been privy to some of the art world's best-kept secrets. When the history of artsy -bohemian Mumbai is recorded, a chapter will surely be dedicated to the Cafe named Samovar. About the Author: Written by Usha Khanna ; directed & designed by Devika Bhojwani and edited by Malavika Sangghvi it is a one of a kind, treasured tribute, a delightful read and a page turning glimpse into Mumbai's world of art and intellectuals. It begins in a kitchen in Rawalpindi in 1927, with the birth of the author, traces her involvement with the Freedom Struggle in Kashmir, her marriage to a young revolutionary, her tryst with Parisian cafe society, where she first experienced art cafes on the Left Bank; her exposure to new-wave art-house cinema, and every thing else that inspired her to create Mumbai's first and best loved artsy bohemian cafe Samovar- the haunt of artists, poets, film makers and students. We look forward to seeing you at the store. Warm regards, Aniyan Nair Head - Operations & Marketing Send this to your friends and colleagues Books I Magazines I Music I Movies I CD-ROMs I Toys I Stationery Ahmedabad Bangalore Chennai Ghaziabad Hyderabad Jaipur Kolkata Mumbai New Delhi Pune Vadodara Vishakhapatnam

26 Aug : IndieFocus - A Producers' Workshop

Sun Aug 26, 2007 2:00 pm

PVR Juhu

mumbai, maharashtra, India

Phone: +91 9833255171

BAISCOPE ENTERTAINMENT

In Association with

PVR Cinemas

presents

IndieFocus
- A Producers' Workshop
with

Kurt Inderbitzin

( Dean, Whistling Woods )

An afternoon exploring what almost no film schools would teach you. . .

- Raising finances for independent/non studio films
- Optioning scripts
- Selling films and negotiating distribution deals
- Playing the film festival game

The workshop will also screen a short film 'Mom N Dad'
followed by a Q&A with the director Kavita Carmeiro

On Sunday, 26th July, 2007
after 2 pm
3rd Floor, PVR Cinemas, Dynamix Mall, Near Iskcon Temple, Juhu

Annual Membership fees: Rs. 500
Session fees for Non-members: Rs. 100
Session fees for Members: Rs. 20

Please contact baiscopeent@gmail.com
or
log onto www.baiscopeent.com for more information organised by BAISCOPE
ENTERTAINMENT & EDUCATION SOCIETY

22 August/ Gieve Patel Book launch

The PEN All-India Centre is happy to announce its fourth event this August...


THE PEN ALL-INDIA CENTRE & CROSSWORD invite you to the launch of

POETRY WITH YOUNG PEOPLE
edited by GIEVE PATEL

Poetry with Young People is an anthology of poems written by students aged between 12 and 18, over a decade, at the Rishi Valley School. These poems have emerged from a series of annual workshops conducted at the School by eminent poet, painter and playwright Gieve Patel.

Patel read to the students from great world poetry, and attempted to impart to them both a sense of poetic form, and the need to write poetry from personal experience and inspiration. The result is an impressive collection of poetry dealing with such varied subjects as mothers, lovers, animals, teachers, the natural world, war, and the environment. Patel writes, in his Introduction to this selection, that the poems are "distinguished by a sense of full-grown awareness".

Well-known stage and screen actor TOM ALTER will read from the book. Two ex-students of Rishi Valley School, Natasha Vakil and Ashesh Dhawale, will also read with him. The discussion will be moderated by Ranjit Hoskote.

Date: 22 August (Wednesday)
Time: 7 pm
Place: Crossword Bookstore, Kemp's Corner


Ranjit Hoskote
Hon. Secretary-Treasurer
THE PEN ALL-INDIA CENTRE


+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

18 Aug : Wonderful world of INSCETS : Shardul Bajikar

On Saturday, 18th August, 2007, at 2:30 pm at the SPJIMR Auditorium,
Mr.Shardul Bajikar shall conduct a Slide and Talk Show on the above topic.

Mr. Shardul Bajikar has graduated in Zoology from Thakur College, Mumbai. He
is passionate about wildlife and has been moving around in various Nature
preserves since more than six years. He loves watching insects and other
invertebrate life, and has managed to photograph many. Currently Shardul is
working with the Sanctuary Magazine and conducts several
educational programmes for students and teachers. He will present the talk
on Identifying the variuos TYPES / CATEGORIES of insects, which will be easy
from layman's point of view.

For further details, contact:
Bhavan's Cultural Centre office,
opp.Bhavan's Book Stall,
Bhavan's Campus, Andheri (West),
Bombay - 400058. Phone: 32938017

Always enjoy Nature......

Dr. Parvish Pandya
Co-ordinator, Ecology Programmes,
Bhavan's Cultural Centre.

KUMAR TALKIES at Awishkar on Monday 13th AUGUST

Cinema is the theme at Vikalp screening at Awishkar

ON MONDAY 13th AUGUST - 7.30 pm

Vikalp , Awishkar and The Short Circuit, presents an evening
of shorts and documentaries

An Actor Prepares
Dir: Avanish Upmanyu
Dur: 16 Min.
The film peeps into the life of one struggling actor of the film industry.
It depicts his aspiration & struggle to make it big there

Holly Bolly (UK / India)
Dir: Dishad Hussain
Dur: 12 Min.
Two young filmmakers are forced to go cross genre.
Winner, best short, Los Angeles, Indian Film Festival 2004

Looking for Amitabh
Dir: Meenakshi Shedde
Dur: 5 Min.
Blind students talk about their how their perception of Amitabh Bachchan.

KUMAR TALKIES
By Pankaj Rishi Kumar
74 minutes
Location Sound, Sound Design Satheesh PM
Camera Avijit Mukul Kishore

Kumar Talkies is a run-down cinema in small town Kalpi, where few films run
longer than a few days, and each screening is missing a number of songs and
dances, thanks to the projectionist's whims. Once owned by the filmmaker's
father, it remembers better days, as seen unearthed through family
testimonies and 8mm footage. Still, the faces of moviegoers reflected in the
dark speak for themselves - the magic of cinema will never cease to
captivate.

The film explores the relationship between Kalpi--a small town in northern
India--and its only surviving cinema hall. The film chronicles Kalpi's
economic decline and its citizens' hopes and frustrations while taking a
nostalgic look at the lost, lavish world of cinema. The film also considers
the influence of television, which is gradually reducing the audience at the
hall.

. Best Film: L'Alternativa, Barcelona
. Special Jury Citation: Zanzibar Film Festival
. National Award for Best Audiography, 1999
. Screenings at 0ver 40 International film festivals

Venue:
Awishkar
New Municipal High School,
Miya Mohhammad Chotani Marg,
Mahim (w)
Tel.:02224445871

Time : 7:30pm

Entry Rs. 50/-
For student 25/- (ID Compulsory)

13 Aug : Vikalp screening at Awishkar - Mahim

ON MONDAY 13th AUGUST - 7.30 pm
====================
Vikalp , Awishkar and The Short Circuit, presents an evening
of shorts and documentaries

An Actor Prepares
Dir: Avanish Upmanyu
Dur: 16 Min.
The film peeps into the life of one struggling actor of the film
industry. It depicts his aspiration & struggle to make it big there

Holly Bolly (UK / India)
Dir: Dishad Hussain
Dur: 12 Min.
Two young filmmakers are forced to go cross genre.
Winner, best short, Los Angeles, Indian Film Festival 2004

Looking for Amitabh
Dir: Meenakshi Shedde
Dur: 5 Min.
Blind students talk about their how their perception of Amitabh Bachchan.

KUMAR TALKIES
By Pankaj Rishi Kumar
60 minutes
Location Sound, Sound Design Satheesh PM
Camera Avijit Mukul Kishore


Kumar Talkies is a run-down cinema in small town Kalpi, where few films run
longer than a few days, and each screening is missing a number of songs and
dances, thanks to the projectionist's whims. Once owned by the filmmaker's
father, it remembers better days, as seen unearthed through family
testimonies and 8mm footage. Still, the faces of moviegoers reflected in the
dark speak for themselves - the magic of cinema will never cease to
captivate.

The film explores the relationship between Kalpi--a small town in northern
India--and its only surviving cinema hall. The film chronicles Kalpi's
economic decline and its citizens' hopes and frustrations while taking a
nostalgic look at the lost, lavish world of cinema. The film also considers
the influence of television, which is gradually reducing the audience at the
hall.

. Best Film: L'Alternativa, Barcelona
. Special Jury Citation: Zanzibar Film Festival
. National Award for Best Audiography, 1999
. Screenings at 0ver 40 International film festivals

Venue:
Awishkar
New Municipal High School,
Miya Mohhammad Chotani Marg,
Mahim (w)
Tel.:02224445871

Time : 7:30pm

Entry Rs. 50/-
For student 25/- (ID Compulsory)

PEN : 9, 11 & 13 August 2007

THE PEN ALL-INDIA CENTRE

invites you to three events this month:


* 9 August 2007

A reading by AMRITA SHAH from her new book, Vikram Sarabhai: A Life (in collaboration with Penguin Books India). The reading will be followed by an interactive session with the audience.

Date: 9 August 2007 (Thursday)
Time: 6.15 pm
Place: Theosophy Hall (3rd floor), 40 New Marine Lines, Churchgate, Mumbai

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* 11 August

PEN@Prithvi/ 'Whose Culture Is It Anyway?'

Should an assault on a painter, or the suppression of a documentary film, or the disruption of a play, be of interest only to the arts community? Or should it be seen by citizens at large as an attack on freedom? A panel discussion on the aggressive claims being made by political interests on cultural activity; and the renewal of democracy by citizens' groups mobilizing the in the public sphere against such encroachments.

An eminent panel, including artist SUDHIR PATWARDHAN , theatre director VIJAY KENKRE, playwright MANASWINI, and activist-writer IRFAN ENGINEER , will address these issues.

Date: 11 August 2007 (Saturday)
Time: 6.30 pm
Venue: Prithvi House (first floor), opp. Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu

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* 13 August

Poetry@PEN – New!

This month, we launch a new feature, 'Poetry@PEN'. This will be a monthly platform where we will present emerging voices, host debates on craft and concept, and create spaces of encounter that are part reading, part workshop and part masterclass.

The first event in the Poetry@PEN series is a reading by four poets: Malavika Sangghvi, Mustansir Dalvi, Peter Griffin and Rohinton Daruwala.

Date: 13 August 2007 (Monday)
Time: 6.15 pm
Place: Theosophy Hall (3rd floor), 40 New Marine Lines, Churchgate, Mumbai

Ranjit Hoskote
Hon. Secretary-Treasurer
The PEN All-India Centre

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Evam Youth Forum Newsletter

Evam Youth Forum

14th Newsletter, August 2007

There is no play and no theatrical performance which does not in some way affect the dispositions and conceptions of the audience. Art is never without consequences.

- Bertolt Brecht

Raking Up the Issue

Driven, dramatic, arresting, over ambitious and over enthusiastic is probably what best gets the attention of the young go-getters the city’s university is currently buckling up for the real world. This thought was reinforced when, bursting with all of the above, Vivin Matthew Easo’s project - ‘Theatre for Change’ hit it off instantly with the student gathering at Wilson’s college, Mumbai on 14^th July. The project aims to create awareness and impact change among the college-going youth of the city by using theatre as a means to bring forward contemporary social, ecological, political and economic concerns. Easo asserts that he envisions this endeavour as a sort of ‘catalyst’ that will hopefully urge and influence bigger, actual changes in the world outside.

Three short theatrical pieces were performed at Wilson’s college - Gary Richardson’s ‘Don’t Come Back to Matheran’, Vivin Matthew Easo’s ‘Midnight Special’ and Atul Kumar’s ‘Yoddha’ (excerpted from ‘Numbers In The Dark), dealing with the issues of deforestation, HIV/AIDS and communalism respectively. The project’s purpose and goal is admirable, as is the effort being put into it by Easo’s company, Theatre Watch - to provoke, to prod and to push; to use theatre as the channel to articulate certain crying needs of the day with the hope that it will trigger off some active participation of the young mind in the environment of today

However, the agenda is one thing and the act quite another. There seem to be some things quite problematic in the way the program is designed and in the manner in which theatre is employed in this venture.

Each 10 minute performance piece was followed by a discussion of about 10 minutes concerning the issue that the piece spoke about. But the time bound discussions only managed to rake up an issue and verbalize what a piece attempted to convey through the language of performance. Moreover, no sooner was a certain viewpoint expressed than Easo, who also played moderator zealously called for a counterpoint. Following the AIDS-centered piece a student questioned the validating tone the piece assumed towards an unfortunate, infuriated AIDS patient who sought retribution by cunningly spreading the virus to gullible members of the opposite sex. Evading the subject of justification, the query was responded to only in terms of a counter-query –Aren’t such acts of vengeance a common occurrence in the real world? And isn’t reality often unjust? A compelling foundation for this reality’s existence in the world of the play however, remained completely in the dark. By the end of it, most of the discussions remained in the realm of opinion versus opinion where the importance of ‘versus’ triumphed over that of ‘opinion’.

Living in the age of incessantly bombarded information, it is now common knowledge that an issue is not solely comprised of points and counter-points – every cause brings with it many different sides, different stories and different voices. But not a single issue was granted its complexities and grey areas. Atul Kumar’s ‘Yoddha’ is a piece which illustrates the fervour of a naïve modern day warrior who doesn’t even know the cause for his cause but still marches straight on to destroy the three domes he sees in the distance along with the mindless, raring warrior mob. He commits and bears violence like a soldier because he has a cause….or at least he has been told so. The piece thrusts upon its audience the question of the near impossibility of righteous judgment and condemnation even of an obvious wrong doer. But in the course of the discussion it was primarily examined in cut and dry terms of innocent v/s guilty and was transformed into something of a dramatized doctrine. Understanding an issue was not as important as meting out the moral – ‘Violence is not the answer’. Without doubt, to students at this level these morals are a given and a project like this needs to work towards taking it forward, building on it or challenging this given.

The stubborn absence of ambivalence that the discussion seemed to support was sadly also reinforced by some of the performance pieces. A particularly unsettling piece was Easo’s ‘Midnight Special’. The piece tells the angry tale of an AIDS patient, a ‘wronged’ woman who just wanted to be loved and now exacts her revenge on the rest of the world because she's been infected. She vents out her frustration and deals with her own helplessness by luring unsuspecting men into bed. Sensationalized, demonized and desensitized – AIDS is not a disease here but an atrocity. It induces violence and whether you’re a transgressor or an abider, it is a merciless blood-thirsty monster that can hunt you down. The piece failed to carry anything beyond its fear inducing banner – ‘AIDS will kill you so Use a condom, Use a condom, Use a condom’. Neither did the overload of conviction obscure the lack of investment in the piece.

And eventually there comes the question of the use of theatre itself as medium. Performance did not seem to be the vehicle of a message or even integral to it but was more of its façade. Its main purpose seemed to be the depiction of the ills and evils that plague our society with characters who were not more than paper cut outs and scripts that were not more than ‘infotaining’ sermons.

After the heavy dose of aggressive activism the final lingering thought is - if theatre needs to impact change then it had best find ways to vitalize and invigorate thought, not instruct it.

Written by Rachel D’souza

If we say that art is no longer relevant to our lives, we may at least risk the question "What has happened to our lives?" The usual question "What has happened to art?" is too easy an escape route.

- Jeanette Winterson

Around the Table

Using the opportunity of MIT Professor of Theatre Alan Brody’s visit to India, the round table discussion on the 23^rd of July at Prithvi, entitled “The Arts as a Necessary Source of Consciousness” saw the rare and promising event of a gathering of luminaries from a diverse range of fields – several out of the purview of the humanities and arts, including scientists, businessmen and politicians, to discuss art. Organised by PEN-Prithvi the discussion was initiated by the keynote address by Brody and moderated by Ranjit Hoskote.

Alan Brody's lively address included a word of caution; gatherings such as these tend to fall into a common trap – of attempting to justify art, something that he wished to avoid. What he wished to endorse, instead, was collaboration between the arts and the sciences, a search for a point of merger between these worlds where they could flow into each other, enrich and illumine each other. Drawing from his experience as a Professor of Theatre at MIT, he asserted his suspicions of a potentially harmful, imbalanced growth and understanding of the world experienced by those educated rigidly in one field and of educating systems that created a relationship of either/or between the arts and sciences. He narrated an anecdote to illustrate this point of view - of MIT mathematics students elated after discovering the perfect solution for a bomb that would kill the maximum number of people. What perturbed him was that there wasn't a tinge of anxiety that accompanied the elation – in the world of science numbers are numbers, even if they are actually people. Brody then went on to elaborate on the myths that surrounded art, especially in a predominantly scientific, rational world – myths that held the arts to be a ‘soft’ enterprise and to reveal what he considered to be the commonalities of the world a scientist and an artist share, a world of mystery, of inscrutability. For Brody, although the methods and processes of discovery might be different the question that plagues both their minds is the same, 'What if'?

Panelists like Shiv Visvanathan and Naresh Dadhich pointed out what they believed to be misunderstandings in Brody's approach to the notion of collaboration. Visvanathan spoke of how he felt Brody's view of the similarities between the two disciplines was a sentimental one that failed to grasp the core and method of science; what sort of collaboration are we talking of when we can be certain that the presence of art will never make an impact in a science text book. When Brody remarked that Eintsein's discovery could be made by anyone but King Lear could only have flown out of Shakespeare's pen, Dadhich spoke of how science is not bereft of uniqueness as Brody suggested it was, and that it possessed an art and beauty of its own. There is, he believed, art and beauty to Einstein's scientific findings and its there because it was Einstein's process, no one else's. Einstein is then as much the artist as Shakespeare, only their subjects differ.

The majority of the discussion that followed the address, however, had little to do with its concerns, and instead reflected the trap that Brody had mentioned earlier, that of seeking to justify art. The discussion wandered into personal anecdotes of how each of the several panelists had found a use for art, a purpose of art and a result from its employment. Gieve Patel shared how his experiences of teaching poetry to younger children showed him that art taught and instructed us how to love, how love would be incomplete without artists like Chopin and Shakespeare, and how art gives shape to emotions we experience – emotions he felt we would not fathom completely were it not for art. Shanta Gokhale narrated her experience with Glaxo-Smithkline, and how plays organized within the corporation helped fuse and bring together employees from completely different social backgrounds and hierarchies within the organisation, and rise above its corporate and economically driven ethos and attitude.

While these anecdotes did underline a collective understanding between all present as to the important role art plays in society, they not only failed to carry the discussion forward – Brody's address was thrown to the way side – they pointed to another far deeper problem, elucidated brilliantly by panelist Ram Bapat - the struggle against utility. Advocating the necessity of autonomy for arts, ethics and science, Bapat spoke of how we live in a world where a field's validity is informed by its utility, the arts are valid and necessary because they are useful. And indeed each of the anecdotes seemed to assess the arts, illustrating how they had been put to good use in different métiers. His words brilliantly summed up the spirit of such discussions – discussions that make for, as he humorously pointed out, round-table conferences where everyone pats his neighbor's back, shares a sidelong smile and passes the issue around…….round and round.

Written by Naren Chandavarkar

Edited by Rachel D’souza

Art has no evolutionary benefit. Yet, in our age, when routine physical threats are no longer a reality we say we have no time for art.

- Jeanette Winterson

Look Out For

1. Arpana Production's "Cotton 56, Polyester 84", 4^th August 7 pm and 5^th August 6.30 pm at N.C.P.A. Experimental, 31^st August and 1^st September, 6pm and 9pm at Prithvi theatre.

2. Q Theatre Production's "To the Death of My Own Family" 9^th August, 6.30 pm, at N.C.P.A Little Theatre, 12^th August, 11am, at Prithvi Theatre

3. Workshop on Protest Theatre by Salim Arif, 7^th August, 3pm and 8^th August 3pm at Prithvi Theatre

4. Panel discussion – "Whose Culture Is It Anyway?", 11^th August 6 30pm at Prithvi House

5. Aranya's "Illhaam", 17^th, 18^th and 19^th August, 6pm and 9pm, at Prithvi Theatre

6. Q Theatre Production's "Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace", 21^st and 22^nd August, 9 pm, at Prithvi Theatre

7. Q Theatre Production's "The President Is Coming", 23^rd August, 6 pm and 9pm , at Prithvi Theatre

8. "Nangiar Koothu" – A dance performance by Usha Nangiar, 24^th August, 7pm, at Prithvi Theatre

9. Nehru Centre Theatre Festival