BackThe TimeOut Mint Planner
The TimeOut Mint Planner
PremiumLove tales: Kuchipudi danseuse Shama Krishna will perform Shringara Nayika.
HYDERABAD
Around town
Bird School
17 June
On Friday, take a walk across the Nehru Zoological Park to spot migratory birds such as little egrets, ibis and pond heron, among others. The hour-long walk will be led by two in-house biologists, Sandeep and Swapna, who will share some interesting titbits about the habits of these birds.
10-11am. Wetland area opposite the zoo shop, Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad-Bangalore highway, Bahadurpura. For details, call 24477355.
Father’s Day Brunch
19 June
The Park Hyderabad is hosting a Father’s Day Brunch, where you can surprise your father by cooking his favourite dish from the special menu, which includes a variety of pastas, grilled vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The hotel chefs will assist you, of course. At the end, present your dad with the World’s Greatest Dad certificate. One condition: You have to answer five questions about him.
12.30-4.30pm. Verandah, The Park Hyderabad, Raj Bhavan Road, Somajiguda. Charges, ₹ 1,500 (plus taxes) per person. For details, call 23456789.
Film
Little Miss Sunshine
17 June
The US consulate general, in association with the Hyderabad Film Club, will screen the 2006 comedy drama, Little Miss Sunshine. The film is about an American family, among them a heroin addict, a homosexual with suicidal tendencies, and an unsuccessful self-help guru. When the youngest, Olive, has a chance to participate in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in California, the whole family takes a cross-country trip in their VW bus.
6pm. Prasad Labs Preview Theatre, Banjara Hills. For details, call 23608015 or email hyderabadfilmclub1@gmail.com
TOP PICK
Theatre
Dominic Wesley
18 June
Written by Anjali Parvati Koda, ‘Dominic Wesley’ explores the creative and intellectual sides of a personality. Mapped through two characters, the hour-long play discusses what determines our choices, what shapes our priorities and how we end up where we end up. The play is directed by Stu Denison.
7.30pm. Lamakaan, Road No. 1, Banjara Hills. Tickets, rS 100, available at the venue. For details, visit www.samahaara.org or call 9885288982.
By Yogendra Kalavalapalli
CHENNAI
Art
Faces
Till 22 June
Mumbai-based artist Nityam Singha Roy is displaying his latest works in acrylic on canvas. Showcasing an amazing definition of lines and brilliant use of textures, this series is thought-provoking and evocative.
11am-6pm. Ayya Art Galleries, 33, Woods Road,
Royapettah (9841076654).
Around town
Silambattam & Thappattam
19 June
DakshinaChitra is organizing a workshop on Silambattam and Thappattam for children aged 8-14. Participants will learn the basics of Silambattam, a dynamic dance with long sticks, traditionally a martial art form. In the Thappattam session, they will learn to play the thappu (a musical instrument), appreciate its rhythm and importance in theatre.
10am-4pm. DakshinaChitra, Muttukadu, East Coast Road (24462435). Charges, ₹ 500, inclusive of material refreshment and conveyance to and from DakshinaChitra.
Photography
Transition
18-19 June
Prakrit Arts presents an exhibition by city-based artists Varan and Srinath. Transition is the photographers’ attempt to portray their assimilation of life, from its absolute basic, yet descriptive form in monochrome, to the more vibrant polychrome.
11am-7pm. Prakrit Arts, 102, Greenways Road Extn, RA Puram
TOP PICK
Music
Fête de la Musique
Till 19 June
Alliance Française de Madras, with Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan and Unwind Centre, is presenting the French music festival. Student bands will perform on 17 June. Grammy-winning singer Tanvi Shah will take the stage on 18 June. On 19 June, local bands will participate in the Parade on a Truck, which will start from the Alliance Française and go up to Haddow’s Park. The grand finale concert includes The Harmonize Projekt and Bassin Bridge.
Timings and venues vary. For details, call 28279803 or visit www.af-madras.org
By Karuna Amarnath
BANGALORE
Music
Betty Argo
17 June
Parisian pop and rock band Betty Argo, named after a Swedish sledge champion who died in 2008, will perform as part of the Fête de la Musique celebrations. Betty Argo’s music has its roots in rock ‘n’ roll, jazz and reggae. Lead singer Lena Roucaute’s voice is almost like another instrument, sounding at turns playful, urgent, vulnerable and wistful.
8pm. Aqua, The Park Hotel, MG Road. For details, call 41231340.
Bay Beat Collective
18 June
established with the aim of introducing elements of European underground music to Mumbai. They experiment with a variety of genres, including drum ‘n’ bass, glitch hop and dubstep, and are partial to pounding bass lines, and funky grooves.
8.30pm. Bacchus, F&B, 8, Papanna Street (40333888). Cover charges, ₹ 750.
The Big Junction Jam
18-19 June
The Live Gig, a forum which showcases local talent, is organizing a two-day music festival featuring bands from across the country, apart from music workshops, live art, food and alcohol. Among the headlining acts at the festival is Parvaaz, a Bangalore-based band that began as an acoustic duo in 2009 and recently chose to go electric, adding a drummer and rhythm guitarist. They play a mix of blues and psychedelic rock, writing songs mostly in Urdu or Kashmiri. Also playing are PralayH, Swarathma, Bevar Sea and The Chronic Blues Circus.
11am-11pm. Nalapad Pavilion, Mekhri Circle, Bellary Road, Palace Grounds (65960362). Tickets, ₹ 500 a day and ₹ 800 for two days, available at the venue.
Theatre
Boy with a Suitcase
17-23 June
After having premiered in Mannheim, Germany, this April, the play recounts 12-year-old Naz’s flight from a war-torn country. Naz heads out on a long and hazardous journey to London, where his sister lives. But it is a journey of many perils, and one that he must undertake alone, because his parents can only afford to pay the way for one of them—him. The play is a collaboration between Ranga Shankara and Schnawwl Theater Mannheim, Germany, and features a mixed cast of Indians and Germans. 1 hour, 25 minutes.
7.30pm, and also 3.30pm (18-19 June). Ranga Shankara, 36/2, 8th Cross, 2nd Phase, JP Nagar (26592777). Tickets, ₹ 100, available at the venue and at www.indianstage.inand www.bookmyshow.com
Art
Seven Summer’s Monsoons
20-30 June
The theme for this painting and photography exhibition is summer. The artists include Hari Naren, Pragya Jain, Ramachandra Kishore, Raveen Panday, Soraya Taher Merchant and Supriya Panday. The show will also include a work in progress—an installation by Mithun Jayaram.
9am-9.30pm (weekdays) and 10am-5pm (Saturdays). Alliance Française de Bangalore, 108, Vasanth Nagar, Thimmaiah Road (41231345).
Film
El Hijo De La Novia (Son of the Bride)
22 June
At 42, restaurateur Rafael (Ricardo Darín) is on a collision course with a mid-life crisis. Keeping the tables turning in Argentina’s financial turmoil is draining enough, but he’s an intermittent dad to his young daughter, non-committal in his relationship with his current girlfriend, and at a loss to cope with his mother’s Alzheimer’s. His father’s announcement that he intends to give the old girl the church wedding she always wanted, even though she may be too mentally fragile to appreciate it, is the last thing he needs to hear.
The screening is part of an ongoing series of Argentine films at the Suchitra Film Society. Non-members need to register at the venue.
6.45pm. Suchitra Film Society, 36, 9th Main, Banashankari 2nd Stage (26711785). For details, call Anand at 9845055034.
Cowboys in India
17 June
Cowboys in India started out as an exploration by a British mining company of Vedanta’s corporate social responsibility programme in Lanjigarh, Odisha, where it has been attempting to extract bauxite from the Niyamgiri hills, which are sacred to local tribals. Standing against the might of Vedanta’s influence are the Dongria Kondh tribals, backed by environmental groups. Cowboys in India is a serio-comic cautionary tale about the limits of documentary film in establishing absolute truths about wrongdoing.
6.30pm. 15/3, Nanda-deep, Palace Road (22258091). For details, visit www.smritinandan.org
Dance
Kuchipudi
19 June
Kuchipudi danseuse Shama Krishna will celebrate the first anniversary of her school, Shraddha Dance Centre, by performing Shringara Nayika, which explores the complex hues of a woman in love. The performance depicts a heroine who is haughty when she “has possession of her lover", then blames him for being conceited when he walks away. She later craves him but is embarrassed when he displays his love in public, and spurns him. Yet she pines for him, and eventually sends her friend to convince him to return to her.
6.30pm. Seva Sadan, 14th Cross, West Park Road, opposite MLA College, Malleswaram (23347830).
TOP PICK
Art
The Collection
17-25 June
This is the second edition of the annual festival hosted by The Collection, UB City, in association with Art Chutney. This year’s edition will feature Galerie Sara Arrakkal, Gallerie Alternatives, Kalaa Art Space, Galeria Di Art’s, Maya Art, Mahua Art, Time & Space, Coromandel Art and Gallery I ART as participating galleries, with recent works by Achuthan Kudallur, C.F. John, Rekha Rao, Shirley Mathew, Siddharth, Suman Roy and T.M. Azis, sculptors Gopinath S. and Udayvir Singh, and photographer Shibu Arakkal, among others. The week-long festival will include a series of events, such as a children’s art contest, workshops, speaker sessions, film screenings, and live art performances. The festival will end with an auction of selected works by city-based artists Suhas Roy and Vaikuntam, among others, at hotel ITC Gardenia, on 25 June.
11am-8pm. Sublime Galleria, UB City, Second floor, Vittal Mallya Road (22711488). For details, call Urmila at 9886099736.
MUMBAI
Theatre
Frankenstein
17-19 June
A recording of film-maker Danny Boyle’s theatrical production of Frankenstein will be telecast at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. The play was a monster hit at the National Theatre in London. And it lives up to its billing. Boyle’s Frankenstein belongs to the monster—or “the Creature", as it’s rechristened in Nick Dear’s script—which is highly sensitive to the currents of revolution, reason, and Romantic death-driven art that first animated Mary Shelley’s gothic vision.
7pm, also 4pm (19 June). Godrej Dance Academy Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Sir Dorabji Tata Road, near Hilton Towers Hotel, Nariman Point (66223737). Tickets, ₹ 300, available at the box office and www.bookmyshow.com
Art
Winged Pilgrims: A Chronicle from Asia
Till 1 August
In the darkened interiors of the Volte gallery, mythical and mundane birds take flight together. Their images soar, swoop and glide across several screens. Watching their journey are five hollowed-out robes of pilgrims, faceless and nameless like the monks who spread Buddhism outside India. This movement of birds, people and ideas across Asia is recalled as an early form of globalization and presented alongside images of contemporary environmental destruction in photographer and installation artist Sheba Chhachhi’s Winged Pilgrims: A Chronicle from Asia. The exhibition is the first major Mumbai solo show of the 53-year-old artist, who started out as a feminist activist and documentary photographer.
11am-7.30pm (Sundays closed). Volte, Kamal Mansion, 02/19, First floor, Arthur Bunder Road, Colaba (22041220).
Music
Megh Malhar
22-23 June
As the searing heat of summer is replaced by the refreshing showers of the monsoon, the nation’s relief finds expression in melodies sung in Malhar, the raga of the rainy season. To celebrate this joyous season, the Nehru Centre will host Megh Malhar—named after one of the varieties of the raga for the 21st year in succession. On Day 1, Kolkata-based singer Raka Mukherjee and Jaipur-Atrauli gharana exponent Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande will perform. Day 2 will see performances by singer Yashasvi Sathe-Sarpotdar and popular vocalist Asha Khadilkar.
6.30pm. Nehru Centre Auditorium, Annie Besant Road, near Shiv Sagar Estate, Worli (24964680). Passes available at the venue.
TOP PICK
Film
Khargosh
17 June
Six months ago, the National Centre for the Performing Arts created a regular screening slot titled Fresh Pix to encourage independent and art house films. Apart from independent Bengali and Marathi movies, Fresh Pix’s curator, Deepa Gahlot, has shown Srinivas Sunderrajan’s ‘The Untitled Kartik Krishnan Project’. On Friday, Paresh Kamdar will screen the 2008 film ‘Khargosh’. The 90-minute film looks at the stirrings of sexual desire in Bantu, a 10-year-old boy. Kamdar applies abstraction to the potentially controversial subject, which is based on a short story by Hindi writer Priyamvad.
6.30pm. Little Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Sir Dorabji Tata Road, near Hilton Towers Hotel, Nariman Point (66223737).
DELHI
Dance
Walking Naked: Female spirituality and self-expression
18 June
A fusion performance by contemporary dancer Lakshika Pandey. Based on the book Walking Naked: Women, Society, Spirituality in South India by Vijaya Ramaswami, Pandey’s fusion of Bharatanatyam and modern dance aims to explore this theme through the lives of four spiritual seekers. She tells the story of Gautami from Bihar, Meera Bai from Rajasthan, Aka Mahadevi from Karnataka and Lalleshwari from Kashmir and shows how modern women face the same problems.
6.30pm. The Attic, 36, Regal Buildings (23746050).
Music
Sarod recital by Ranajit Sengupta
21 June
The music festival, A Summer’s Interlude, features a sarod recital by Kolkata-based Ranajit Sengupta, who is a disciple of the late Ustad Dhyanesh Khan and Ustad Aashish Khan. As a child, Sengupta started out as a mandolin player, switching to the Hindustani musical instrument later.
6.30pm. Lecture Room (Annexe), India International Centre, 40, Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Estate (24619431).
Film
A Little Princess
17 June
When her father, an army captain and a widower, is posted to France from India, young Sara (Liesel Matthews) is lodged in the New York boarding school of Miss Minchin. No sooner has her classmates’ resentment at her wealth abated that news arrives of her father’s death in the trenches. Director Alfonso Cuarón transforms these elements of melodramatic contrivance with skill and sensitivity into a humanist rites-of-passage story. 1 hour, 37 minutes.
6pm. American Center, 24, Kasturba Gandhi Marg (23316341).
Frozen
20 June
Shivajee Chandrabhushan’s film is about jam-seller Karma (Danny Denzongpa) and his son and daughter. The army stakes out their home and keeps the family under surveillance. A local trader (Yashpal Sharma), who has lent Karma money at exorbitant interest rates, asks him to repay his debt by pimping his school-going daughter. Though the narrative is often sluggish, distraction is always at hand in the form of Shanker Raman’s stunning camerawork. 1 hour, 49 minutes.
7pm. Habitat Film Club, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road (24682222). Only for members. Film Club membership is ₹ 750 a year.
TOP PICK
Theatre
Amrita: A Sublime Love Story
18-19 June
A play based on Amrita Pritam’s relationship with Imroz, a painter and a man of few words. Pritam, on the other hand, produced a torrent of them, and they brought her great fame. She was a nationally admired poet when she caused a scandal by walking out of her unhappy marriage in 1960. Almost immediately, she was smitten by the poet and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi. Their relationship, however, was always one-sided. It’s said that sometimes when Ludhianvi dropped a half-smoked cigarette, Pritam would pick it up and draw on it, desperate to forge some connection with him. When they fell out, Pritam found her “destiny" in Imroz, with whom she lived until her death in 2005.
7pm. India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road (24682222). Tickets, ₹ 100, ₹ 250 and ₹ 350, available at the Habitat Centre programme desk.
KOLKATA
Art
Subliminal Maps
Till 25 June
Tejas Art Gallery is presenting Subliminal Maps, an exhibition by young artist Tanay Kumar Paul. A College of Visual Arts graduate, Paul has developed a unique process of painting that makes his work visually stimulating and conceptually powerful. He believes everything is made of layers—our lives, bodies, earth, atmosphere. He cuts and layers paper over paper on which he applies textures and colours, to present his theme. The exhibition is part of Tejas’ young artists promotion programme.
12.30-7.30pm (Sunday closed). Tejas Art Gallery, 11, Mayfair Road. For details, call 64990248.
Music
Live in Concert with Underground Authority and Turf
18 June
Tabla player Bickram Ghosh and entertainment group Siddha will present Live in Concert, hosted by the Calcutta Classical Guitar Society. The indie-rock band Underground Authority are known primarily for their politically inclined original compositions, which they term Protest Poetry. The band hopes to introduce their unique sound to a new and young fan base in Kolkata through this concert.
7pm. Vidya Mandir, 1, Moira Street. For details, call 9007943814/22892636.
Birth centenary celebration of Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan
19 June
The Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan Centre for Culture is celebrating the birth centenary of legendary sitar maestro Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan with an evening of classical music. The evening will start with a recital by renowned sitar maestro Debu Chaudhuri and his son Prateek Chaudhuri, who will be accompanied by Kumar Bose on tabla, followed by Hindustani vocalist Rashid Khan of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, with Shubhankar Banerjee on tabla and Jyoti Guha on harmonium.
6.30pm. GD Birla Sabhagar, 29, Ashutosh Chowdhury Avenue, Ballygunge.
Around town
Johari Bazaar—The Jaipur Street Food Festival
Till 26 June
Noon-midnight (weekdays), and noon-2am (weekends). Street, The Park (22499000). Charges, ₹ 100 (plus taxes) onwards per dish.
TOP PICK
Film
11th International Children’s Film Festival
17-21 June
Cine Central, Calcutta, a film society, presents the 11th International Children’s Film Festival in collaboration with Nandan, the West Bengal Film Centre, Eastern Zone Cultural Centre (EZCC) and Unicef.
The participating countries, apart from India, are Bangladesh, China, Japan, Iran, Israel, Canada, France, Italy, Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Netherlands and US. Some films from Unicef will also be screened.
The line-up of screenings includes ‘The Dream Kites’, ‘Thei-Go King and His Son’, ‘Hutong Days’, ‘Adventures of The Moled’, ‘La Prophetie des Grenouille’, ‘Children of Heaven’, ‘Baran’, ‘Colour of Paradise’, ‘Aalor Thikana’, ‘The Refrigerator’, ‘5 Centimeters Per Second’, ‘The Golden Apple Tree’, ‘Aladdin’s Magic Lamp’, ‘The Snow Queen’, ‘Finding Nemo’, ‘Kung Fu Panda-2’, ‘Jungle Book’, ‘Circus’, ‘The Dark Lane’, ‘Breaking the Silence’, and many more.
Timings and venues vary. For details, call Cine Central at 22287911, Nandan at 22231210, EZCC at 23352406, Unicef at 22892758/61 or visit www.cinecentralcalcutta.org
By Indranil Bhoumik
Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
