sivamani

Went for a performance by Sivamani. He made it interactive by playing on a suitcase and a water camper. Pulsating beats, which resonated with heartbeats.

Metros in metros

Just took the metro. Crowded even in the middle of the day, the Calcutta metro needs a makeover. I realised it was unsafe after I got on. Survived the brief ride without incident. Ladies only compartments like in the Delhi metro would help. The windows were half down too.

Mirchians

Mirch was watchable. A hazard of short stories is that they are episodic, specially when they are one after the other. Identification with a character for a sustained period of time becomes difficult. The stories from Panchatantra and Decameron were folk tale like in nature. Would be tough to incorporate the superstitious attitudes the twists in them hinged on, in modern stories. Unless, of course, magic realism was used. The third story's denouement seemed a little weak logically. I liked the last story's comic elements which Boman Irani personified. Women viewers would naturally like the agency taken by the protagonists in all the stories. They all revolved around verbal dexterity rather than brute strength, thereby confirming another stereotype. Still, even considered as tales by themselves, they were fun. That's what going to the movies is about at the end of the day.

Gair Zaroori Log was a gair zaroori play.
Yaar Bana Buddy was painful. The actors went on ad nauseam about a Rs. 1 crore ghada. The title tune was tacky TV serialish. Very against the tone of other plays in Nandikar's annual festival lineup.

never knew Ecuador was so rich in birds

I want to go to Ecuador!

Main hoon don...

Blue Footed Booby, Ecuador

Attended a folk dance performance from Ecuador. Liked a mask with a long tongue hanging out. Also a snake dance where the men and women wore outfits which had strings of beads hanging from them. Another dance had men engaging in mock sword fights. Sparks flew from their blades. Several dances saw women swirl their long skirts. The last dance revolved around hopes for happiness of a child who had died. Even the various regions of Ecuador seemed different in their dance forms. Looking at these dances, trying to link them to the ones here so that they seemed less alien, I thought perhaps that is how foreigners try to make sense of our culture. The music too was very soothing and lilting.

Enjoyed a much needed break to Mumbai. All refreshed now. Highlights included the Anish kapoor show. I didn't realise many of his famous works which are housed in America would be exhibited here too. Mehboob Studios served as an ideal host for the works. The studio walls as reflected by the sculptures formed mesmerising patterns. These sculptures are new. They seem alive, fluid, changing with every person who looks at them. It's intiguing to wonder how these particular effects- of making the viewer's image upside down when she moves away from the sculpture and the oppposite when she moves towards the sculpture works. Being part of art, what more could the viewer ask for? Anish kapoor has cleverly leveraged this insight in his work.

Out of bounds

Watched the play Out of Bounds recently. Very episodic, with the protagonist delivering monologue after monologue as different characters, as if to say, "Hey, look at me! Look how I can juggle so many different characters!" Funny in parts.

I enjoyed Anurupa Roy's puppetry workshop at Seagull even though I could attend only one day.
We learnt about the different kinds of puppetry, such as the ones she used at her show the day before- shadow, cutouts, figures etc. Puppetry called ravanchitra is popular in South india. It is named after Ravan as Ram being divine, doesn't have a shadow! We collected objects from the roadside to see what they would look like when a overhead projector would be used to project them on screen. I picked up a chakri- a leftover firecracker from Diwali. It worked well as a snail when projected. We then composed small stories under a minute using the objects we had found, in groups of 5. A tattered cloth looked beautiful on the screen. So did flowers, water in a transparent bottle, a hairclip. It was fun to imagine, be children again. We then attempted to make puppets from transparencies, cardboard and paper. We had wire and thumbtacks to create joints for our puppets. We were given three stories to stage. First we had to create a visual storyboard. This let us know at a glance what props were required for a scene. The next day we were to introduce colour using cellophane. Sigh. I wish I could have attended the second day too. Ah well, at least I got a glimpse in another world.

I quite liked Anurupa Roy's Anecdotes and Allegories. Puppets were the stars in this production. Babar, Humayun and Akbar's histories were told. Tiny puppets in doll houses were projected on a screen for Babar's story. Humayun's story was told with shadows and Akbar's with cutouts. I did feel that the accented voiceover if in Hindi instead of English, would have matched better with the material. Also, the few parts of the play which were in dialogue stood out. More such parts would have strengthened the subaltern perspective. All in all, a very different play which was worth attending.

Miss Daisy drives herself

Learning how to drive is enjoyable. From first gear to second gear, to reverse gear today, it gives one a feeling of immense power to be able to handle an object bigger and heavier than oneself. To actually move, be able to direct where one is going with a deft flick of the steering wheel…ah what comfort.

Unit Asia's jazz concert was enjoyable. Lighting was used to mirror the change in musical tempo. A Thai, a Malay and Japanese came together to create lilting music.

Liked All About Women best at Airtel's Lifestage theatre festival. Evam's 5 point someone adhered too faithfully to the book. Project S.T.R.I.P. was too like a skit on environmental issues to be enjoyable. Gentlemen was too risque. God- I didn't like the script much. The Leela Tapes did not vary pace.

Melange 2010

I quite enjoyed Melange 2010, which saw six musicians- Nishat Khan on sitar, Trilok Gurtu on percussion, Larry Coryell on guitar, Lily Haydon on violin, Frank Martin on keyboard, Itai Disreali on bass guitar.
Nishat Khan served as the focal point as he was centre stage. As the distinctive India instument player too, he stood out.
Trilok Gurtu used South American instruments among others to conjure up sounds of a storm.
Lily Haydon managed to make the violin sound more angry than mournful.
I liked the fact that the musicians got sounds out of their instruments which I had not heard from these instruments earlier.

Week 3 weigh in

Slowly but surely
Will win this race hopefully
Even karela feels good
TC tempts, will I be wooed?
Behind target, so think not
Gymming in full swing
Triple time spent there
Next week the alarm's ring
Must be heeded.
A change of work refreshes
Albeit for a while, destresses.

Week 3

this weight loss business is Sisyphean
Yo yo like, bounce off the walls lean
In dreams alone. Minor aberrations
Leave their accusing mark in lamination
On scales that weigh, assign justice blind
This Spartan existence, I myself remind
Will lead to better things, but as fruit appeals
Chocolate truffle cake, pizza and garlic bread repel,
My social life shrinks, with water alone to drink
The end seems far, far away. Gym feels good
Getting up's a pain, but I like the bed of wood.

WAR

It goes on, it will go on
Like life. Worth living?
Some argue otherwise.
Lighter in body, if not in mind
Gram by gram, try to rewind
To a slimmer waist, now a waste
memories of bhujiya downed
Invisible masses piled up
To inch towards unhealthy.
Hiking homewards, only to rebound
It is to be hoped I stay mentally sound.
Amen.