Bangalore
Theatre
Celebrating 20 years of Tumhari Amrita
15 June
Twenty years since it was first staged, Tumhari Amrita continues to generate as much excitement as it did initially. Directed by Feroz Abbas Khan, the story is one of unrequited love between Amrita Nigam (Shabana Azmi) and Zulfikar Haider (Farooq Shaikh), explored through their correspondence of over 35 years. Nigam first wrote to Haider on her eighth birthday in 1940, when Haider was just 10. 2 hours.
Shabana Azmi and Farooq Shaikh in a scene from the play Tumhari Amrita
Vinay Pathak Is Nothing Like Lear
16-17 June
Ever wondered what a clown does when he is depressed? Here is one who hasn’t stopped crying for days... The one he loved the most has left him and gone away...for good. He is old. But mostly, he is depressed because he’s been forced to perform this play and can’t even remember the playwright’s name. Directed by Rajat Kapoor, the play is a devised performance based on William Shakespeare’s play King Lear, using clown theatre. 1 hour, 20 minutes.
7.30pm on 16 June/6.30pm on 17 June. MLR Convention Centre, Brigade International School, Dyvasandra Industrial Layout, Mahadevapura, Whitefield (33151261). Tickets, Rs 250, Rs 500 and Rs 750, available on
www.indianstage.in
Hayavadana
16-17 June
There have been many stage avatars of Girish Karnad’s Kannada play Hayavadana—a classic of modern Indian theatre. This new production in English, brought to stage by Black Boxers Productions and the Industrial Theatre Co., has been directed by Pushan Kripalani and Arghya Lahiri. The latest serving is a refreshing take on the 1971 script—a ménage à trois, a talking horse and a debate on brain vs brawn. 2 hours.
7.30pm on 16 June/3.30pm and 7.30pm on 17 June. Ranga Shankara, 36/2, 8th Cross, JP Nagar 2nd Phase (26592777/9321103921). Tickets, Rs 200, available on
www.indianstage.in
Gumma Banda Gumma
20-22 June
Written and directed by S. Surendranath, the play, for children aged 5 and above, is an adaptation of a German play titled Max Und Milli. It is a five-character play performed in the Grips Theatre format in which adult actors perform the role of children. 1 hour, 30 minutes.
7.30pm. Ranga Shankara. Tickets, Rs 70, available on
www.indianstage.in
Around town
Meet the Artist
15 June
The Bangalore International Centre and Ananya Drishya present a new bimonthly series, “Meet the Artist, with the aim of bringing significant city-based artists in conversation with those interested in, or simply curious about, art. This talk, moderated by art historian Pramila Lochan, will see Bangalore-based artists Anuradha Nalapat and Sumana Chowdhury presenting their work and talking about their artistic journeys.
6pm. Bangalore International Centre (BIC), Teri Complex, 4th Main, 2nd Cross, Domlur 2nd Stage (25359680). For BIC membership and details, call 9886599675.
Music
Bangalore Open Air 2012
16 June
The heavy metal festival will feature two main international metal bands from Germany: Kreator, the godfathers of teutonic thrash, and SuidAkrA, a melodic death metal band. The festival will also feature six Indian metal bands—1833 AD, Kryptos, Eccentric Pendulum, Dying Embrace, Bevar Sea and Albatross—and 12 hours of non-stop heavy metal, across two venues.
10am. Acharya Institute of Technology, Soldevanahalli, Hesaraghatta Main Road, off Tumkur Road; Palace Grounds, Jayamahal Road (65960362). Tickets, Rs 1,500, available on
in.bookmyshow.com. For details, visit
www.bangaloreopenair.com
Sapthak
16 June
On its sixth anniversary, Sapthak, the Bangalore group dedicated to promoting Hindustani classical music, will host a recital by vocalists Shounak Abhisheki and Dhananjay Hegde and a tabla solo by Ravindra Yavagal.
5.15pm. Chowdiah Memorial Hall (23443956). For details, call 9448067829.
Top Pick
Art
Ramkinkar Baij—A Retrospective
17 June-14 August
A retrospective of artist Ramkinkar Baij (1906-1980), curated by K.S. Radhakrishnan. Baij, who studied at Santiniketan, is known for his contribution to modern Indian sculpture. His iconic 1938 work ‘Santhal Family’, depicting a mother, father and child from the Santhal tribe and a dog, carrying their few possessions to a new life, was the first public Modernist sculpture in India made with cement cast and laterite pebbles.
10am-5pm (Mondays closed). National Gallery of Modern Art, Manikyavelu Mansion, 49, Palace Road (22201027). Entry, Rs 10 (Indians), Rs 150 (foreigners).
•••••
Mumbai
Film
Documentaries with Vikalp
15 June
Vikalp, a network of documentary film-makers, will organize the screening of three films. Director Nidhi Tuli’s The Saroj Khan
Story follows the terpsichorean journey of one of the finest choreographers in the Hindi film industry. Hansa Thapliyal’s Have You Dreamt Cinema? follows the lives of three sisters and their relationship with the idea of recreation in the city. And Binu Kumar’s Priyapetta Kim/Dear Kim is the story of three friends—Ajimon, Santhosh and Jomon— in a remote hilly village of Kerala and their obsession with the world of movies.
7pm. Theosophy Hall, Alliance Française, near Nirmala Niketan, 40, New Marine Lines (22036187).
Around town
MusiKi: Music for Kids | Tansen
21-23 June
Through dramatization, vocalist Mala Ramadorai will introduce youngsters to the life and music of the legendary musician Tansen, especially his contribution to Indian music, at a three-day workshop. Children aged 8-12 can participate.
4.30-6.30pm on Thursday-Friday at West Room 1 and 11am-12.30pm on Saturday at Little Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Nariman Point (66223737). To register, email innercourtyard@gmail.com.
Dance
Lavani
16 June
Mahila Vikas Kendra will present an afternoon of lavani performances. In Mi Kat Takli, lavani enthusiast Bhushan Korgaonkar will bring together the traditional and contemporary practitioners of the folk style.
3pm. Yashwantrao Chavan Natya Sankul, near Star City,
Matunga—West (24377649). For details and tickets, Rs 100, Rs 200, Rs 300 and Rs 500, call Mahila Vikas Kendra on 26690776 or email bhushank23@gmail.com.
Art
Art for Young Collectors
Till 28 July
Titled Art for Young Collectors, the group show offers young collectors a chance to sample and buy select work by young artists. The line-up features eight artists in their 20s—Poorvesh Patel, Arundhati Saikia, Midhun Gopi, Reshma Nair, Abul Hisham, Juhikadevi Bhanjdeo, Arun K.S. and Samir Mohanty—who use a range of material, from iron filings to acrylic, rice paper and charcoal. Most works are priced at Rs 4,000-12,000; some very large works are Rs 70,000-2 lakh.
11am-7pm (Sundays and Mondays closed). Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, 2, Sunny House, 16/18 Mereweather Road, behind Taj Mahal Hotel, Colaba (22023030).
Changing times: Anuvab Pal’s The Bureaucrat.
Theatre
The Bureaucrat
17 June
Anuvab Pal’s ‘The Bureaucrat’, directed by Rahul da Cunha, looks at what being a bureaucrat meant in the 1950s—and what it means today. The father (Bugs Bhargava Krishna), a 50-something government official, and his 31-year-old son (Neil Bhoopalam), a VJ, grapple with being seen as dinosaurs at work. The father is summoned by the home minister to solve a national crisis on the day French president Nicolas Sarkozy is passing through New Delhi, while the bureaucrat’s English-speaking son gets sacked when the television channel starts reaching out to Hindi-speaking viewers in small towns—and he decides to launch a revenge campaign.
7.30pm. St Andrew’s Auditorium, St Andrew’s College, St Dominic Road, Bandra—West (26459667). Tickets, Rs 200, Rs 300, Rs 400, Rs 600 and Rs 800, available on
in.bookmyshow.com
•••••
Delhi
Theatre
16-17 June
Log Baag
Part of Asmita Theatre’s Summer Theatre Fest, this satire is an adaptation of Neil Simon’s play based on six short stories by Anton Chekhov, each depicting a slice of life. The common thread that binds them together is the essential conflict between “What should be?” and “What is?”. The stories, though seemingly simple, undercut mammoth institutions—bureaucracy, parenting, marriage, medicine—revealing glimpses of insecurity, namelessness, confusion and pain. 1 hour, 30 minutes.
7.30pm. Amphitheatre, India Habitat Centre (IHC), Lodhi Road (24682222). Tickets, Rs 50, available at the IHC programme desk.
Twin tales: Jacques Demy’s Les Demoiselles de Rochefort.
Les Demoiselles de Rochefort
15 June
Jacques Demy’s 1967 French film with English subtitles, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (The Young Girls of Rochefort), centres on Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac as the “pair of twins, born in the sign of Gemini”, looking to escape the sleepy environs of Rochefort for life in the big city.
5.30pm/7.30pm. Alliance Française, 72, Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Estate (43500200).
Music
The Ghost Crabs
20 June
The Ghost Crabs—a new psychedelic-beat band, with flavours of rock ’n roll, Indian, Latin and Italian music—are influenced by 1960s music groups like The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and The Who. The band comprises lead singer Paolo Fattori, guitarist and singer Karan Malhotra, bassist Sergio Dinarte and drummer Blixter-X Pranoy.
9pm. The Living Room (TLR) Café, 31, Hauz Khas Village (46080533).
Around town
Talk—Women at Work
16 June
Albeena Shakil, a member of the All India Democratic Women’s Association, talks to Naseem Begum as part of a monthly “Women at Work: A Series of Conversations With Women Workers”, conceived and conducted by Shakil, that began on 19 May. Begum is a piece-rate worker, a classification which, according to the 2006 Arjun Sengupta committee report, constitutes 79% of nearly 80 million home-based women workers in the unorganized labour sector (more than half of all unorganized sector women workers do home-based work like making bidis, doing zari, embroidery, or other handloom work).
5pm. LeftWord Books, 12, Rajendra Prasad Marg, Connaught Place (23359456).
Top Pick
Music
Tribute to Serge Gainsbourg
21 June
On the occasion of ‘Fete de la Musique’, Alliance Française is presenting a concert showcasing songs of the French singer-composer Serge Gainsbourg. Gainsbourg’s music covers jazz, ballad, mambo, lounge, reggae, pop, funk, disco, calypso, Africana, bossa nova and rock ’n roll. The production company Stiff Kittens Inc. has put together a revue with a line-up of 13 musicians and dancers who will present 25 songs of the French composer.
8pm. blueFROG, 4-A Seven Style Mile, Kalka Dass Marg, Mehrauli (30800300).
•••••
Kolkata
Theatre
Koi Ek Raat
15 June
The Weavers Studio Centre for the Arts (WSCA) will present a Hindi play Koi Ek Raat by Spandan, a cultural organization in Kolkata devoted to the performing arts. This story explores the relationship between a mother and daughter over one night. Directed by Ashok Singh, the play features Renu Roy and Sohini Mukherjee in the two roles.
6.30-8pm. Gyan Manch, Pretoria Street. Entry, Rs 200 for guests, free for members. For tickets, call 24613145/9830632197 or visit the WSCA office at 94, Ballygunge Place.
Mixed doubles: Bodhi and Tanya.
Bodhi and Tanya
15 June
Hotel Hindusthan International will organize an evening with Bodhi and Tanya, an indie acoustic duo comprising guitarist and songwriter Bodhisattwa Ghosh and singer Tanya Sen. It is an attempt to create a unique synthesis of acoustic pop-rock and electronica ambient drum and bass with only an acoustic guitar, a microphone and a loop station. The duo promises to deliver a real-time sound- designing experiment through original material and popular covers, restructured, redesigned and re-harmonized. Bodhi has collaborated and performed with artistes like Pandit Tanmoy Bose, Bickram Ghosh, Neyveli S. Radhakrishna, Seth Blumberg (US), Soweto Kinch (UK), Anusheh Anadil (the lead singer of the Bangladeshi folk-rock band Bangla), Greg Torunski and Piotr Torunski (Poland), among others. Tanya has studied Hindustani classical music from Ustad Raza Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana.
8pm. Virgose, Hotel Hindusthan International, 235/1, AJC Bose Road (22830505/22830395/22839697).
Indian Classical
19 June
Gorky Sadan, the Russian Centre of Science and Culture, will present an evening of Indian classical music with a concert by Pandit Shyam Sundar Goswami, accompanied by Ustad Sabir Khan on tabla. Goswami, a Hindustani classical vocalist in khayal, did his master’s in classical music from Rabindra Bharati University.
6.30pm. Gorky Sadan, 3, Gorky Terrace, near Minto Park/Camac Street (22832742/43).
Around town
Rummikub
16 June
Funskool India Ltd is organizing a series of regional- and national-level competitions to select one person to participate in the 8th World Rummikub Championship to be held in Sicily, Italy, in November. The tile-based Rummikub is one of the world’s best-selling games. The competition is open to children aged 12 and above. The winner of the Kolkata regional competition will compete with participants from other regions in the finals in Bangalore on 30 June.
10am. Starmark, 3, Lord Sinha Road (22833650).
Top Pick
Around town
Taming of the Wild
15 June
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) will present a puppetry performance, ‘Taming of the Wild’, by Dolls Theatre. The production portrays the relationship between humans and nature, and shows how mankind’s greed and self-indulgence leads to self-destruction.
6.30pm. Satyajit Roy Auditorium, ICCR, 9A, Ho Chi Minh Sarani. For details, call 9433045258/ 9432113453.
By Indranil Bhoumik
•••••
Chennai
Emerging Idioms: A group show.
Emerging Idioms
15-21 June
Some contemporary artists have moved away from tradition and towards new expressions, ideas, concerns and an entirely new language to present their individual impressions and perspectives. The group show Emerging Idioms, which showcases some of these works, includes artists Siva M., Janarthanan R., Natesh Muthusamy, Benitha Perciyal and Maria Antony Raj.
11am-8pm. Apparao Galleries, 7, Wallace Garden, Third Street, Nungambakkam (28332226).
Around town
Photography workshop
16 June
This photography workshop will focus on the techniques involved in indoor, outdoor, portrait and macro photography and cover various aspects of photography—framing, light and shadow, etc. Children aged 13-16 can participate. Participants need to bring their own cameras.
10.30am-5.30pm. DakshinaChitra, Muthukadu, East Coast Road (24918943). Registration fee, Rs 750.
Theatre
Cheating Cheaters
16 June
The Masquerade Youth Theatre presents John Patrick’s Cheating Cheaters, directed by Harshavardhan Ganesan and Vaidhya M. Sundar. The play, a comedy, is about two middle-aged sisters, Theresa and Angelica, who have settled on the idea of impersonating begging nuns in order to send their orphaned niece, Tania, to an art school in Europe. A cat, a burglar and a suspicious policeman keep them company. 2 hours.
3.30pm/6.30pm. TN Rajaratnam Auditorium, RA Puram, Durgabhai Deshmukh Road. Tickets, Rs 150, Rs 200 and Rs 500, available on
www.indianstage.in
Top Pick
Dance
Comic Hip Hop—Zak and Angelo by De Fakto
16 June
The duo Aurélien Kairo and Abderzak Houmi of the French act De Fakto will perform a comic hip hop dance—a compelling farce narrated through rhythmic dancing, stylized movement and mime. One is lively, dynamic and impatient. The other is a dreamer—calm, good-looking and romantic. Both let themselves get into the personality of the other, resulting in comic and ironic situations.
7.30pm. Edouard Michelin Auditorium, Alliance Française de Madras, 24, College Road, Nungambakkam (28271477).
By Nandini Reddy
•••••
Hyderabad
Film
The Sorcerer And The White Snake
20 June
Directed by Hong Kong director and action choreographer Tony Ching Siu-Tung, the 2011 romantic action film The Sorcerer And The White Snake is a visually lavish epic fantasy about a woman demon (a huge, beautiful snake) who falls in love with an ordinary mortal. The 2011 film marries the latest advances in computer-generated imagery (CGI) and action techniques with ancient Chinese fable.
6.30pm. Sri Sarathi Studios Preview Theatre, Ameerpet. For details, email hydfilmclub@yahoo.co.in.
Around town
Stand Up Comedy Show by Sorabh Pant
16 June
Enjoy the hilarious evening put together by Mumbai-based comic Sorabh Pant, and feast on a three-course meal consisting of quiche, salads, pizza, pasta, desserts, mocktails and unlimited Italian red and white wine.
7pm. Ohri’s Ruci & Idoni Bistro, First floor, opposite Rainbow Hospital, Road No. 10, Banjara Hills. Price, Rs 999 per person and Rs 1,800 per couple, including food and beverages. For invites, call 8790817171.
Tasty: Father’s Day brunch.
Around town
Special Father’s Day Brunch
17 June
Ista celebrates Father’s Day with a special brunch at Collage restaurant. It has lined up a range of fun activities— fathers will cook for their children, there will be a band playing, children can perform on stage and also make greeting cards for their fathers. Prizes for some of these activities are up for grabs.
Noon-3.30pm. Collage, Hotel Ista, Gachibowli (44508888). Price,Rs 1,450, plus taxes, per person.
By Yogendra Kalavalapalli
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