Mumbai
Around town
Indo-German Urban Mela
13-22 April
Indo-German Urban Mela: Fest grafitti at Cross Maidan
10am-10pm. Cross Maidan, Fort. For details, call 22027542.
Ride a ferry-go-round
14 April
Hop on to the ferry that transports tourists around the Gateway of India harbour. Choose from the 30-minute joyride that takes you on a short spin around the Gateway or the 1-hour ride till the Elephanta Island. As you and your family set sail, tell your children the story of the Gateway of India—it was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to India in 1911 and was opened to the public on 4 December 1924. If you’re sailing to Elephanta, keep an eye out for migratory birds.
9.15am-7.30pm. Gateway of India, Apollo Bunder. Charge, Rs 60 for a 30-minute ride and Rs 130 for an hour-long ride. For details, call 22026364.
Music
DJ Sarasa + Uri
17 April
Vinyl spinning and hip hop, soul and disco tunes come to the fore in this edition of Cool Chef’s weekly programme Blame It on the Boogie. DJ Sarasa, who had competed in the 2008 Japan finals of the DMC World DJ Championships, will take the decks with support from local DJ Uri.
10pm. Cool Chef, Thadani House, 329/A, next to Indian Coast Guard Headquarters, Worli Village (32231199/24301127). For details, call the venue.
Music and wellness workshop
19 April
Sitar player Hindol Deb, with Amit Misra on tabla, will conduct a classical Indian music performance and a health-oriented music workshop that will explore how various ragas affect the body’s chakras.
7-9pm. Yogacara, Rewa House Bungalow, opposite National Garage, Bhulabhai Desai Road. Fees, Rs 500 for members and Rs 650 for non-members. For registration, call 9833198371 or email yogacara.healing@gmail.com.
Sadhana Shiledar + Krishna Bhat
15 April
Kalabharati’s tribute to musicologist and teacher C.P. Rele features Nagpur-based singer Sadhana Shiledar and Mumbai-based vocalist Pandit Krishna Bhat.
10am. Karnataka Sangha, Dr Vishveshawarayya Smarak Mandir, CHM Marg, Matunga—West (24377022).
Bombay Bassment
19 April
The American Center, in association with the alternative music solutions company Sound Curry and Bonobo, will present a performance by funky hip hop and reggae band Bombay Bassment.
8.30pm. Bonobo, Kenilworth, Phase 2, near KFC, Bandra—West (26055050). Entry on first-come, first-served basis.
Blek
19 April
Blek (fomerly Blech) is an all-original alternative trio comprising Jared Creado on bass, Varoon Aiyer (of the band Split) on drums, and Rishi Bradoo on guitars and vocals.
9pm. Hard Rock Café, Wadia International Centre, Bombay Dyeing Mills Compound, Pandurang Budhkar Marg, Worli (24382888). Entry, Rs 150.
Ozma Cine-Concert
18 April
The French quartet from Strasbourg will perform original music composed for Buster Keaton’s 1923 silent comedy film Three Ages. The film will be projected on the screen behind them while they perform.
10-11.30pm. blueFROG, New Mahalaxmi Mills Compound, opposite Empire Mills, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (40332300).
Dance
Basanti
14 April
In Basanti, Kathak danseuse Anurekha Ghosh links different stages of life to the varying seasons. Summer is depicted as grihastha, the second stage in which one takes on the duties of a householder in the Hindu worldview. Spring is equated with the blossoming of youth, while winter stands for old age and the monsoon brings forth both personal growth and loss. Season-based ragas as well as Rabindranath Tagore’s writings inspired Ghosh.
6.30pm. Sardar Patel Sabhagriha, Bhavan’s College Campus, Dadabhai Road, Munshi Nagar, Andheri—West (26237454).
Top Pick
Theatre
The Sound of Music
13-15 April
The timeless classic ‘The Sound of Music’ returns to the stage for the third time. While most children and parents are familiar with the movie, Raell Padamsee’s musical is based on the original Broadway production by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein that was first staged in 1959. 2 hours, 30 minutes.
7.30pm (13 April) and 4pm (14-15 April). Tata Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Nariman Point (66223737). Tickets, Rs 750, Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500, available on
www.bookmyshow.com
Bangalore
Dance
Kuchipudi
14 April
Danseuse: Shama Krishna.
6.30pm. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Race Course Road (22267303).
Music
Sridhar/Thayil
13 April
The experimental and electro-pop duo will launch their new album STD at this concert. Jeet Thayil on guitar and vocals, and Suman Sridhar on vocals, will be supported by Adrian D’Souza on drums, Kenneth Rebello on bass, and Tala Faral on saxophone and keys.
8.30pm. B-Flat, 776, 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar (25278361). For details, contact the venue.
Art
In the Midst
13 April
Janet Meaney has studied sculpture from the Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, US, and did her PhD in performance art from the Australian National University, Canberra. In the years between, Meaney established herself as a performance artist with formidable ideas on feminism and social empowerment. In this exhibit, Meaney will be performing with coloured clay bowls. She will lie with two bowls (white and brown) in either hand and crush them in an act symbolizing the mixing of colours, race and cultures. There will also be a simultaneous video-screening of the performance art and three installations.
6.30pm. 1, Shanthi Road, Shanthi Nagar (9880227706). For details, visit
www.1shanthiroad.blogspot.com
Film
Suchitra Film Society
15 April
The screening of films by Greek director Theodoros Angelopoulos, with English subtitles, will be open to the public.
Landscape in the Mist, 4pm
In this 1988 film, a small boy (Alexandre) and his pubescent sister (Voula) leave home in search of their missing father, who is said to be in Germany. They cross paths with various characters intended to evoke a nation in crisis—an uncle unwilling to take charge of them, a brute trucker, a luckless troupe of itinerant actors whose explorations of Greek history are no longer in demand. 2 hours, 4 minutes.
Eternity and a Day, 6.45pm
In this 1998 film, a dying author (Bruno Ganz) prepares to leave his beloved family home by the sea and settle things with his daughter; his feelings of despair are interrupted, complicated and finally, to some extent, banished by memories of happier times with his wife (Isabelle Renauld) and by an encounter with a young Albanian orphan. 2 hours, 10 minutes.
Suchitra Film Society, 36, BV Karanth Road, 2nd Stage, 9th Main, Banashankari (26711785).
Top Pick
Theatre
Gentlemen
15 April
The play is a hybrid of theatre and stand-up comedy, and is centred on hilarious takes on the male obsession with fallacies and phalluses. Directed by Anil Abraham, the cast includes Ashvin Mathew, Anil Abraham, Ajith Hande, Rajeev Ravindranathan and R.J. Shraddha. 1 hour, 20 minutes.
7.30pm. Alliance Française de Bangalore, 108, Thimmaiah Road (41231345). Tickets, Rs 200, available on
www.bookmyshow.com
Delhi
Art
In Context: Public.Art.Ecology, Food Edition-I
Till 18 April
The show presents the work of five individual artists and artist collectives who were selected for the third edition of Khoj’s Public.Art.Ecology residency. The focus of this year’s six-week programme and concluding exhibition: the politics of food. Spanish artist Alfonso Borragán has been holding a series of Fosfofagias, or communal ceremonies, involving fluorescent beverages and food. Julian Abraham of Indonesia has been trying to initiate visitors into a mechanical installation and the experimental making of cheap fermented liquor through sounds from its manufacturing process. A video installation by Frame Works Collective examines the politics of using the biscuit as a fortified food to tackle malnutrition, while Shweta Bhattad’s realistic-looking wax food is the main ingredient in an interactive sculptural installation and performance on the wastage of food. The fifth artwork is by Italy’s Andrea Caretto and Raffaella Spagna.
11am-7pm (Sunday closed). Khoj Studio, S-17, Khirki Extension (65655874).
Music
Music mania: The Paisleys will perform at TLR Café.
13 April
The Paisleys comprise American expats and their music is a mix of folk, blues, swing and bluegrass. They perform original music as well as songs by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Band, The Eagles, Hank Williams, Gillian Welch, Gram Parsons, The Grateful Dead and others. Mud Stuffin features three guitarists—Mark Mowry (who is also American), his son Kahle, and Kapil Chetri. Their repertoire consists of acoustic blues and ragtime. Mowry Sr and Chetri were formerly members of local rock band Big Bang Blues.
9pm. The Living Room (TLR) Café, 31, Hauz Khas Village (46080533).
Dance
Kathak
14 April
Kolkata’s Padatik Dance and Theatre Centre will present a day-long Kathak marathon. The event will be divided into three sessions—10am -1pm for juniors (10-18 years), 2-5pm for seniors (19-30 years) and 6-9pm for performers (over 30 years). The participants, chosen from across the country on the recommendations of their gurus, will improvise performances on stage. The finale will see Pandit Krishna Mohan Mishra (Maharaj) of the Lucknow gharana perform, followed by Pandit Rajendra Gangani of the Jaipur gharana.
10am-9pm. Triveni Kala Sangam, 205, Tansen Marg, Mandi House (23718833).
Top Pick
Theatre
Guide: A Story of Love, Passion and Deception
13-21 April
This play is an adaptation of R.K. Narayan’s 1958 novel ‘The Guide’, which inspired the popular 1965 Vijay Anand film. The novel was set, like most of Narayan’s fiction, in the south Indian town of Malgudi. The story of Raju, a tour guide, and Rosie, a visiting dancer he falls for, was considered bold for its time: Rosie has an extramarital affair and Raju becomes a fake godman. This latest version is a musical, with four reworked songs from the late S.D. Burman’s classic soundtrack and choreography by Gilles Chuyen. The play has been directed by Sanjoy K. Roy.
7.30pm. Kamani Auditorium, 1, Copernicus Marg, Mandi House (23388084). Tickets, Rs 200, Rs 300, Rs 500, Rs 750 and Rs 1,000, available at the venue.
Chennai
Art
Keen eye: A Sophie Jouannet Bech work on display.
Till 12 May
French artist Sophie Jouannet Bech is known for her ability to take the mundane and elevate it to a different dimension. In this exhibition, Bech captures the routine and the mundane with a sense of humour—her keen observation and attention to detail is reflected in each piece, where even the most insignificant object seems to stand out.
11am-7 pm. Apparao Galleries, 7, Wallace Gardens, 3rd Street, Ground floor, Nungambakkam (28332226/0726).
Music
Electronic World Music Concert—Business Class Refugees
19 April
An alliance of musicians from India and Israel, Business Class Refugees are all set to treat Chennai to a special concert. Chennai-based record label EarthSync will present Business Class Refugees before they fly to France to perform at the prestigious Le Primptemps de Bourges music festival from 24-29 April. The musicians in this concert will include vocalist Mahesh Vinayakram, Pratik Shrivastava on sarod, Chiranjit Mukherjee on tabla and bassist Shalini Mohan, with electronics by Yotam Agam and Patrick Sebag.
7.30pm. Atrium, Alliance Française de Madras, College Road, Nungambakkam (28279803).
Around town
I Can…!
18–20 April
A three-day residential summer camp for children aged 11-14 will focus on developing skills and creative potential through the mediums of art, craft and theatre, involving children in games, activities and cultural projects.
10.30am-5.30pm. DakshinaChitra, Muttukadu, East Coast Road (9841777779). Registration fee,Rs 3,500.
Top Pick
Music
Blues Conscience
13 April
Chennai’s Blues Conscience is a jazz-blues band formed in 2008. The band will perform in this benefit concert for the NGO, Slum People Education and Economic Development (Speed) Trust. The roots of this three-member band go deep, to the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.
7.30pm. Edouard Michelin Auditorium, Alliance Française de Madras, College Road, Nungambakkam (28279803).
By Nandini Reddy
Hyderabad
Film
Mexican Film Festival
13-16 April
The Hyderabad Film Club and Annapurna International School of Film+Media (AISFM) are organizing a Mexican Film Festival that will launch with the screening of El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth) at 6pm on Friday. Los Bastardos (The Bastards) and El Carnaval de Sodoma (Carnival of Sodom) will be screened on 14 April at 5.30pm and 7.15pm, respectively; Partes Usadas (Used Parts) and Más Que a Nada en el Mundo (More Than Anything in the World)on 15 April at 5.30pm and 7.15pm, respectively; and El Traspatio (Backyard) on 16 April at 6.30pm.
Annapurna Studios Preview Theatre, Road No. 2, Banjara Hills. For details and bookings, visit
www.isfm.edu.in/blog/mexican-film-festival-april-2012
Around town
Vishu Ashamsakal
14 April
Usher in the Malayalam new year with Malayali delicacies. In keeping with tradition, the menu has been designed to offer equal proportions of salty, sweet, sour and bitter flavours, including Mampazhapachadi (a sour mango soup), Veppampoo Rasam (a bitter preparation with neem flowers), Vishu Kanji (rice and coconut porridge) and more.
12.30-3.30pm. Dakshin, ITC Kakatiya, Begumpet (23400132).
Meal price, Rs 1,000, plus taxes, per person for a vegetarian thali and Rs 1,200, plus taxes, per person for a non-vegetarian thali.
Top Pick
Theatre
Kaifiyaath
13 April
An evening of poetry and music featuring actor Shabana Azmi and theatre personality Mohammad Ali Baig, with Rahul Sharma on santoor. Azmi and Baig will recite a collection of writings by the late poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi, with Sharma playing the santoor.
7.30pm. Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Madhapur, Izzat Nagar, Kothaguda (66163000). Tickets, Rs 500, Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000, available on www.indianstage.in/events/kaifiyaath.html
By Yogendra Kalavalapalli
Kolkata
Theatre
Pinki Buli: A tale of two girls from different social backgrounds.
18 April
Theatre group Sayak will present Bengali play Pinki Buli, written by Indrashis Lahiri and directed and enacted by Meghnad Bhattacharya. The story revolves around two girls, Pinki and Buli. Buli is from a remote village and works as a domestic help at the quintessential urban teenager Pinki’s house. While Pinki goes to a convent school, Buli babysits Pinki’s brother. It is a story about two different lives—their wishes, dreams, pain, conflict and trials.
6.30pm. Academy of Fine Arts, 2, Cathedral Road. Tickets, Rs 40, Rs 60 and Rs 100, available at the venue.
Around town
Sohne Punjab da Sohna Swaad
Till 22 April
Punj-Aab is celebrating Baisakhi with authentic Punjabi cuisine. The menu includes kharore ka sorba, Lahori Paneer Tikka, Ambala Ka Mashhoor Mutton Seekh, tawa machhi, gucchi matar, murg kastoori saagwala, hare
moong ki dal, missi roti, jheenga pulao, sarson da saag, Paneer Amritsari, and achari kathal.
Noon-4pm/7-11pm. Punj-Aab, 43-P, Park Mansion, 57-A, Park Street (40042180/40637078). Meal for two, Rs 700-1,000, plus taxes.
Poila Baisakh@Saffron
13-15 April
The Park hotel celebrates the Bengali new year with traditional Bengali cuisine from the kitchen of Jorasanko Thakurbari in north Kolkata. There will be dishes such as posto narkel bata die bora, Anglo-Indian Lamb Cutlet, koraisutir dhokar dalna, kamla lebu phoolkopi, Borishali Aloo Dum, Thakurbarir Kosha Murgi, bhetki kopir daab malai,
tulsi chingri malai curry and chingrir bati chorchori. Punjabi Aahari Thali and Mansahari Thali will also be available.
Noon-3.45pm/6-11.45pm. Saffron, The Park, 17, Park Street (22499000/22494000, extension 2134). Meal price,Rs 1,650 per person, for the non-vegetarian thali and Rs 1,250 for the vegetarian thali, all inclusive.
Poila Boisakh
14 April
ITC Sonar will celebrate the Bengali new year with a special festive buffet at the Eden Pavilion and Peshawari. Taste tetrazinni, kobiraji cutlet and more at the Eden Paviloin. The Peshawari will have two platters—Samudari Khazana, a seafood platter, and Subz Khazana, a vegetarian kebabs platter. Both platters will be accompanied with dal, a choice of breads, raita, a choice of desserts and two pints of beer or two glasses of sparkling wine.
12.30-2.45pm/7-11.45pm. Buffet meal price at the Eden Pavilion,Rs 2,400, plus taxes, per person; and at Peshawari, Rs 2,700, plus taxes, per person for the Samudari Khazana and Rs 2,100, plus taxes, per person for the Subz Khazana. For more details and reservations, call ITC Sonar at 23454545.
Top Pick
Art
The Wonder of It All
Till 29 April
Fifty-five sculptures and paintings in oil and watercolour by Paris-based Sakti Burman are on display. His work is influenced by his experiences in France and Italy and exposure to Renaissance fresco paintings. In one series, he skilfully blends the fresco style and the classical Ajanta (Buddhist) cave murals of India. The retrospective has recurring themes of preservation of memory, images, dreams and impressions; surrealistic and fantastic assortments of figures; the transitions between reality and fantasy; and an unending celebration of life and beauty.
10am-5pm (closed on Mondays and national holidays), entry closes at 4.30pm. Victoria Memorial Hall, 1, Queen’s Way. For details, call 9830105433.
By Indranil Bhoumik
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