The Time Out-Mint Planner
The Time Out-Mint Planner
DELHI
Theatre
Comedy night
23 December
The 5Elementz Art and Culture Society promises lots of laughs with two new Hindi plays: Vasant Kanetkar’s ‘Dhai Aakhar Prem ke’, on what happens when a professor’s daughter falls in love, and I.S. Johar’s one-act play ‘Padamshri.’ The plays have been directed by Rakhi Manuv.
7pm. PSK Auditorium, Vikas Marg, Lakshmi Nagar (9811445355).
Big B
18 December
Directed by Sayeed Alam, the play focuses on the learning of a foreign language—if English can any longer be called that—and the misunderstandings that follow. It abounds in literal Hindi-to-English translations, many of which are hilarious. This is a light-hearted and humorous critique of our education system.
7pm. Epicentre, Apparel House, Sector 44, Gurgaon (0124-2715000). Tickets, Rs150-350, available at the venue.
Music
Half Step Down
24 December
These Delhi blues rockers comprising Dhaval Mudgal (vocals), Carl Abraham (bass), Shiv Lumba (keys), Srijan Mahajan (drums) and Karan Dutta (guitar) have great stage presence and have won acclaim following the release of their debut album in August.
10pm. Hard Rock Café, M-110, Multiplex Building, first floor, DLF Place, District Centre, Saket (47158888). Call the venue for entry charges.
Nightlife
Shpongle
18 December
Simon Posford, better known as Shpongle, is hailed as one of the most dynamic figures in EDM (electronic dance music) and, more specifically, in the psychedelic arena. Take your pick—Hallucinogen, Younger Brother, or the avatar for the gig of the fortnight, Shpongle—they’re all him.
10pm. Elevate, Centre Stage Mall, Sector 18, Noida (9711000728).
Around town
The Revised Kama Sutra
20 December
A dramatized reading from Richard Crasta’s The Revised Kama Sutra. The book chronicles the many adventures of a boy growing up—sometimes awkward, often risqué and always hilarious. The readers include Dhruv Shetty, Shubham Vaish, Nisa Shetty, Kinjal Dua, Vikalp Mudgal and Abhinav Mehra. Directed and music by Gopal Sharman.
5.30 pm. Akshara Theatre, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, next to RML Hospital Emergency gate (23361075).
The Indian Christmas
23 December
Listen to a talk on Christmas music—the diversity of Indian Christianity and its unique regional elements and the various denominations makes the celebration a fascinating cultural experience. The talk will explore various well-known and not-so-known traditions related to church services, rituals, food and music across the country. Share the Christmas message of peace.
6.30pm. The Attic, 36, Regal Building, Parliament Street (23746050).
Art
Living Off the Grid
Till 21 December
A group show of paintings, sculptures and installations by Abhishek Hazara, Baptist Cohelo and Rashid Rana, among others.
11.30am-7pm. A-21-22, Sector 5, Noida (0120-4336976).
MUMBAI
Theatre
Dream of Taleem
22-24 December
Sunil Shanbag’s latest production ‘Dreams of Taleem’ bears some of the director’s trademarks: a plot that weaves together fantasy and reality, and a sensitive theme that will give conservative members of the audience pause for thought. In ‘Dreams of Taleem’, young theatre director Anay is scouting for an actress so he can begin rehearsals for a new play. He’s been deserted both by his theatre company and his assistant director and partner Yash, who has returned to Delhi to get married.
The play maps the loneliness of the creative process and the isolation of characters struggling to deal with their homosexuality.
9pm (22-23 December), 6pm and 9.30pm (24 December), 4pm and 7.30pm (25 December). Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Vile Parle, West (26149546). Call the venue for ticket prices.
Def Poetry Jam!
19 December
This American Center presentation is co-hosted by Shivani Tibrewala and Kamilah Forbes, assistant director for the 51-city US national tour of Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam! on Broadway.
6pm. Blue Frog, Todi and Co., Mathuradas Mills Compound, opposite Kamala Mills, Tulsi Pipe Road, Lower Parel (40332300). Admission on a first-come, first-served basis.
Art
Our Breath Concrete
Till 20 January
Most of us wouldn’t think of yoga and light sensors in the same breath, but artist Qusai Kathawala hopes that after seeing his debut show, Our Breath Concrete, viewers will become aware of how much one can do by simply exhaling. Enter Kathawala’s show and you’ll have sensors strapped on your body so that you can make the gallery light up, literally. The visitor’s breathing pattern is detected by the sensors, which bring Kathawala’s installations to life.
11am-7pm. Volte, 02/19, Kamal Mansion, First Floor, Arthur Bunder Road, Colaba (22041220).
Music
Porcupine Tree
21 December
They’re one of the biggest names in rock that you’ve probably never heard of. But Steven Wilson, frontman and founder of English progressive rockers Porcupine Tree, bears no grudge on that account. Here’s how he describes his sound: “It goes from death metal roots to ambient textures to pop melodies to harmony vocals to electronic rhythms. To try and explain that whole melting pot of music and influences and expect someone to understand how that could possibly work in reality is very hard."
6.30pm. IIT Powai, near Hiranandani Gardens, Powai (25723706). Tickets, Rs1,000.Click here to buy tickets.
Zero and Blackstratblues
22 December
When Zero, widely regarded as one of the biggest Indian rock groups of all time, disbanded in August 2008, distraught fans were somewhat consoled by rumours that the band would reunite soon. In February, the group was back on stage, playing a short set at the press conference organized to announce Baajaa Gaajaa, the independent music expo organized in Pune by Indian classical musicians Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan. This fortnight, all four founding members of the group—bassist Girish “Bobby" Talwar, drummer Siddharth Coutto, vocalist Rajeev Talwar and guitarist Warren Mendonsa—will get back together.
9.30pm. Hard Rock Café, Bombay Dyeing Mills Compound, Pandurang Budhkar Marg, Worli (24382888). Call the venue for entrance fee details.
Dance
Tal Samuchchay
22 December
Kathak dancers Maulik Shah and Ishira Parikh, founders of the Anart Institute in Ahmedabad, present a piece at the Haridas Sangeet Sammelan in which they will dance to separate taals (rhythms). Parikh will dance on Jhap taal (10 beats), while Shah will tackle the Rudra taal (11 beats).
6.15pm. Vidyapith Vidyarthi Bhavan, 4th floor, B Road, Churchgate.
Purush
23 December
In the third and final concert of Purush, a series organized by the National Centre for the Performing Arts to showcase the work of male Indian classical dancers, Navtej Singh Johar presents Dravya Kaya. He will be accompanied by Sudeep Kumar.
6.30pm. Experimental Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts Marg, near Hilton Towers, Nariman Point (66223737). Tickets, Rs200 and Rs300, available at the venue.
BANGALORE
Film
Experimenta 2009
Till 20 December
The sixth edition of the International Festival for Experimental Film and Video is being hosted by the artist collectives Jaaga and Samuha, and the art gallery GallerySKE. This year, the agenda stands broadened beyond film and art appreciation, and will include dialogues about changing media dynamics.
Click here for a detailed festival schedule or email savita@filterindia.com
Dance
Kuchipudi
20 December
Vyjayanthi Kashi and the Shambhavi Dance Ensemble will present sequences of traditional pieces from the Kuchipudi repertoire.
6.30pm. Freedom Park, Ramachandra Road, Gandhinagar (22867440).
Music
Pushing Tin Kyra
23 December
This outfit was born when its members met at Pecos, a popular eating joint in Bangalore, three years ago. Since then, they’ve been dishing out what they call “experimental rock".
7pm. Kyra 2001, Katti-Ma Centre, 100-Foot Road, Indira Nagar (9632203333). There is a cover charge of Rs500.
Theatre
Damini the Damager
19 December
Directed by Arundhati Raja and written by Gautam Raja, the play is a cluster of five monologues about the new urban Indian woman and her many faces, crafted with spunk and sealed with an imagination that might share Quentin Tarantino’s malevolence.
8.30pm. Opus in the Creek 2, Doddanekkundi Industrial Area, Whitefield Road, Mahadevapura (9845244610). Call the venue for ticket details.
Dancing on Glass
18 December
Directed by Ram Ganesh Kamatham, the play is a comical look at the lives of Megha, who works at a call centre, and Shankar, a software engineer, their crazy lives, as they get by in a city on the move, in a world gone just a little bit mad. The cast includes Abhishek Majumdar and Meghana Mundkur.
7.30pm. Ranga Shankara, 36/2, 8th Cross, 2nd Phase, JP Nagar (26592777). Limited passes available at Artistes Foundation for the Arts and Ranga Shankara.
Art
Vicissitudes of the Constructed Image
19-23 December
This group show, curated by Suruchi Khubchandani, will include the work of Ashutosh Bhardwaj, Arunanshu Chowdhury, Babu Eshwar Prasad, Dhruvi Acharya, Farhad Hussain, George Martin, Samanta, T.V. Santosh and Yashwant Deshmukh, among other young artists.
11am-7pm. Chitrakala Parishath, Kumara Krupa Road (9886218518).
CHENNAI
— By Karuna Amarnath
Music
On A Song
23 December
With the Margazhi music and dance season in full swing and top artistes coming back home to Chennai to participate in various festivals, catch acclaimed singer T.M. Krishna as he mesmerizes you with his amazing vocals. He will be accompanied by R.K. Sriramkumar on the violin, Thiruvarur P. Bhakthavathsalam on the mridangam and B.S. Purushotham on the kanjira.
6pm. Mylapore Fine Arts Club, 45, Musiri Subramaniam Salai, Mylapore (24997755, 24430055). Tickets for the season (till 4 January), Rs3,500 and Rs1,250; daily tickets, Rs750, Rs500 and Rs300.
Photography
A Moment in the Priceless Journey
Ongoing
Inspired by a culinary journey, these photographs by Ajay Rajgarhia, Dinesh Khanna, Leena Kejriwal, Naveen Kishore, Ram Rahman, Samit Das and Varun Gupta have a down-to-earth feel, a far cry from mere pretty advertising shots.
11am-6pm. Artsphere Contemporary, 7, 3rd Street, Wallace Garden, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam (28332226, 28330726).
Art
Vaazhayadi Vaazhai
Ongoing
Vaazhayadi Vaazhai celebrates the legacy of the late artist Maniam. His paintings and illustrations are not just beautiful, they are crafted to perfection. The exhibition showcases the work of three generations: Maniam, his son Maniam Selvan, and granddaughters Subhashini Balasubramanian and Dharini Balakrishnan.
11am-7pm. Gallery Sri Parvati, 28/160, Eldams Road (24939845).
Recent sculptures
Till 25 December
Bangalore-based artist G. Reghu presents his new collection. The sculptures in ceramics and stoneware exude innocence and playfulness, with humour and satire as focal points.
11-7pm. Gallery Samukha, Old No. 121, New No. 187, St Mary’s Road, Alwarpet (42112545).
Around town
Gujarat Festival
19-27 December
DakshinaChitra celebrates the art and culture of Gujarat, bringing together the rich and diverse traditions of the state through its performing arts, crafts, cuisine and textiles. The highlights include folk performances, Ajrakh printers from Kutch, Rabari craftswomen from Bhuj, and a thali corner which will serve authentic Gujarati cuisine.
10am-5pm. DakshinaChitra, East Coast Road, Muttukadu (9841777779).
KOLKATA
— By Indranil Bhoumik
Theatre
National Theatre Festival
Till 25 December
Nandikar’s 26th National Theatre Festival features troupes from across the country and abroad. This year’s programme, dedicated to the memory of the late Habib Tanvir, includes his Naya Theatre troupe performing ‘Kamdeo ka Apna Basant Ritu ka Sapna’ (an adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’), among others.
6.30pm. Academy of Fine Arts, 2, Cathedral Road. Tickets, Rs20, Rs40 and Rs60. For details, call 25554946 or 9830892751.
Roddur Ola Gali
19 December
Saltlake Monirath Group Theatre performs select scenes from a Bengali adaptation of Thomas Brussig’s German novel Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee (At the Shorter End of the Sun Alley), which is about life behind the Wall in erstwhile East Germany. Interestingly, the 1999 German movie Sonnenallee, for which Brussig wrote the screenplay, was released a year before the novel. The storylines of the two versions differed significantly, though the characters and context are the same.
6.30pm. Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, 8, Ballygunge Circular Road (24866398).
Art
A Study in Abstraction
Till 26 December
Abstract art has the ability to fascinate, bewilder and even outrage. To complicate matters, new hybrid forms appear continuously; geometrical patterns, colours and textures come and go as fashions change. Some say abstraction in art is a manifestation of the emptiness or lack of direction in contemporary socio-political or cultural affairs. Yet, what lies at the core of meaningful abstraction is a spiritual, even mystical, quality: The transcendence of material and form to find a new reflection of reality. It is this quality that is underscored in this show by Manjari Chakravarti, Shridhar Iyer, Prabhakar Kolte, Manish Pushkale, Deepak Rajvar, Partha Shaw, S. Harsha Vardhana, Deepak Tandon and Neha Chandria.
11am-7pm (Sundays closed). Ganges Art Gallery, 33A, Jatin Das Road (24653212).
My World in Colours
Till 19 December
Self-taught artist Atri Sen’s warm strokes of colour in seemingly simple compositions on canvas and paper are deceptive: They are a window to the very special vision of this student of the Karunamoyee Parents Organisation for Mentally Handicapped and alumnus of Manovikas Kendra. This is Sen’s second solo exhibition, comprising seasonal and urban vignettes.
11am-7pm daily. Gallery K2, Supra Court, 35 Lansdowne Terrace (24651444). Click herefor details.
Around town
Christmas Eve
24 December
This festive programme of carols and Bible readings will feature members of the Vivekananda Study Circle (Junior), Swami Prasannatmananda and Swami Vedaswarupananda of the Ramakrishna Mission, as well as Father G. Ponodath, rector of St Xavier’s College, Kolkata.
5.30pm. Vivekananda Hall, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark (24641303). Children below 5 years are not allowed.
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