A humming word

Ever wondered what Kashmir looked like before the militia, the government, the terrorists and the plague of fear took over? Kalakriti Art Gallery, host to the art exhibition: Makers and Meanings, has displayed three tiny room full of photographs, clicked by R.C. Mehta. Mr. Mehta ran the first photo studio of Kashmir and he clicked animated portraits of the commoners and celebrities, alike--Pandit Nehru campaigning in the house boats to shy women and sunkissed soldiers, you will find the breath of Kashmir captured in these portraits. Also, the camera which was used was displayed too. So, go ahead, photo bugs! And, for the poets in us, walk through the bazaars where they sold bread, the farms where women toiled and campaigns in House Boats. What was impressive was that the farmers were women. This was 1940s. Can you imagine? These photo rooms, as I call it, is a time travel. You can see the Dal Lake, the Jhelum, the Shalimar Bagh of the 40s and be awestruck. As I passed by, going ...

Art is a semicolon for our life; on either side, the independent clause is related but a breathing connector, helps us ease our routine. You will still get irritated with the bump holes, changing government policies, changing socio-economics among other labyrinthine problems of life, but knowing that each of us go through the same and when captured on an easel, it relieves you. Look back, after five years, and you’ll realise your worries were in vain. Meanwhile, take a glance at the everyday trance. Aptly named as Trance Everyday, Moshe Sayan, a self-taught Hyderabadi artist, uses vivid colors to capture the rainbow of colours in the sky. You may have captured from your cubicle at work, while sipping some chai or from your pantry or from your balcony but the watercolors carry their own charm. While oleographs, serigraphs are like nymphs and gods in heaven—beautiful but unattainable, watercolors and sketches are the shiny pebbles on earth—natural and attainable. A woman da...

How often do we collect bill slips? How often do we save old letters and read them and re-read them till we soak up the words? For those of us who love vintage paper or vintage records, here's a display with a lemony twist: Bakula Nayak, an architect turned artist, chose simple vintage articles that we seldom ignore as the canvas for her art work.  The exhibition, that will be held till September 2, 2019, at Kalakriti Art Gallery, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, is a double treat: for those who love to rewind back in time, look at that gramophone or read a letter neatly hung on an examination pad; and for those who like Indian poetry. Bakula has painstakingly included the verses of Ritusamhara by Kalidas. The book is an epitaph to the six seasons of India. I call it an epitaph because we don't witness six seasons anymore. I have read a few verses of the book, translated by Ranjit Pandit, spouse of Vijaylakshmi Pandit, and it is a hard read. I had the fine opportunity to spea...