Srimati
Lal on
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Wounded:
From Jogen Choudhary’s exhibition |
Art
I have
been very taken with one of Aman Nath’s new ideas. He is working
on a series of collaborative ventures where a well-known artist creates
a painting along with a non-artist who is a celebrity in another field.
So Jogen Choudhary just did a painting with Tina Ambani. I ended up
collaborating with Siddharth Shriram. It was a very interesting experience
for me to see a different kind of creative expression in a totally new
context. The works are to be auctioned in November.
Before that, I was in Delhi
for two weeks and I rediscovered the Amrita Sher-Gil collection at the
National Gallery of Modern Art. I was struck once again by her cultural
complexity and her global language. Looking at her works, I now know
the vibrancy of the cross-cultural intersections inherent in Indian
art.
I also saw Jogen
Choudhary’s recent exhibition in Delhi. Being an admirer of his
work and his language, I was disappointed to see an entire exhibition
only of serigraphs. I wanted to see the brushstrokes and the paint of
his original works.
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Telling
Tales: Naseeruddin Shah in Manto Ismat Hazir Hain |
Quasar Padamsee
on
Theatre
I saw Manto Ismat
Hazir Hain at the Prithvi Theatre last week. It’s been directed
by Naseeruddin Shah. It’s based on four stories, two each by Saadat
Hasan Manto and Ismat Chugtai, two bold 20th century writers. Three
of these stories had been banned earlier for being obscene and the last
one deals with the trials that courageous writers have to face for their
work. I loved the stage adaptation because of its sheer sincerity and
the intensity of the idea and production. The writing is great in any
case. I also loved the stage design — at one point a bed becomes
a bunker, for instance — and it all happened in front of us, there
were no tricks. It was pure theatre in that sense. There were superlative
performances by Naseer’s daughter Heeba Shah and by Jameel Khan
and Ankur Vakil. Imad Shah was great too, though he had a small part.
Namita Gokhale
on
Books
Because of my association
with Yatra Books and the Penguin Bhasha initiative, I find myself reading
more in Hindi these days. Uday Prakash is one of India’s most
powerful short fiction writers. His black vision and throttled humour,
which I had appreciated in English translation, find their natural resonance
in the original Hindi. There are two collections of Uday Prakash’s
works on my bookshelf: Areba Pareba and Mangosil. I dip into them from
time to time, nibbling at the texture.
Mridula Garg's provocatively
intelligent collection of stories, Joote ka Jod, Gobi ka Tod, studies
the psychology of the masculine world. Ms Garg is to be awarded the
2004 Vyas Samman this week.
I still take a much longer
time to read in Hindi, but it’s a journey I am enjoying.
Zila Khan
on
Music
Arabic music is really catching
my ear these days. There is a purity of music here. Chords in this music
are called gah, literally space. Se gah — the sixth chord. Do
gah — the second chord. This music has such history. Abdul Karim
and Abdul Majid still sing classically in Arabic. And there are the
old masters, like Hamid al-Shaeri. People worship these musicians, they
are like the Amitabh Bachchans of classical Arabic music. There’s
Abadi Johar, whose music I love. It has taken over my life at this
moment — it gives me a sense of living in both the old and the
new, imbuing my roz ki zindagi with this ancient calling.
Zorawar Kalra
on
Food
I would recommend the restaurant
Made In India, which is in the mbd Radisson Hotel in Noida. Their usp
is their fantastic tandoor menu — it’s interactive and aesthetically
pleasing. I’ve had their galoti kebabs, which are out of this
world, and which I recommend everyone to try with ulte tawe ka parantha.
It’s off-season right now, but their sarson ka saag is also phenomenal.
Another dish is baoli handi, which is mixed vegetables tossed in a tomato-based
semi-spicy sauce. A good deal for money too. A meal for two, without
drinks, would cost about Rs 600.
