Rafta, Rafta...

"Scott Elliott's production of Ayub Khan-Din's "Rafta, Rafta ...,"
which opened last night at the Acorn Theater, is intimate in a way
that prying video cameras can never be. Set in a working-class
neighborhood of transplanted Indian families in Bolton, England, this
tale of a beleaguered honeymoon exposes its characters' foibles, and
very little of their flesh, with gentleness and compassion," says a
New York Times review.

"And the plot of "Rafta, Rafta ...," adapted from "All in Good Time,"
a Bill Naughton comedy from the 1960s, sounds like an extended blue
joke, or the basis for a sniggery sitcom: Young man takes virginal
bride home to live with the family, then finds himself unable to
consummate the marriage because Mom, Dad and Little Brother keep
interrupting and distracting him.

The title translates from Hindi as "slowly, slowly." And this
production understands it takes time for people to get to know and
accept one another. That includes an audience and a set of onstage
characters. In an era of faster-is-better entertainment "Rafta, Rafta
..." is notable for its winningly slow hand," writes the reviewer Ben
Brantley in this review titled, "No Sex, Please, We're British
Indians."

For those that enjoy theater, this promises to be a good show...

Read the full review at--
http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?emc=tnt&tntget=2008/05/09/theater/reviews/09raft.html&tntemail0=y

How Far Can Artists Go?

Dissolving the controversy surrounding M.F. Hussains art, a court has
basically dissolved the controversy surrounding his art and says he
needs to be back home painting.

The New York Times reports that -- "A court in India has quashed three
obscenity cases against M. F. Husain, one of the country's most famous
contemporary painters, the BBC reported. The charges contended that
Mr. Husain, 92, offended Hindus with a work, above, that represented
India as a nude goddess. The court in Delhi ruled that the painting
was not obscene. Mr. Husain, who has been accused of obscenity in at
least seven cases, apologized for the painting, which he declared an
"expression of purity." He has been living in the Middle East because
of the lawsuits, but his lawyer, Akhil Sibal, quoted the court as
saying Mr. Husain "deserves to be at home, painting his canvases."

Whereas a website by Hindu Jagruti says that Hussain is painting
derogatory art of Hindu gods, why is he not doing so of his own
religion? You can see some of the paintings at their site listed
below. An article in Frontline magazine, has some paintings by Hussain
of Hindu Gods which are not derogatory, so what does that mean?

New York Times article is at --
http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?emc=tnt&tntget=2008/05/09/arts/09arts-INDIANCOURTD_BRF.html&tntemail0=y

Hindu Jagruti website is at this URL--
http://www.hindujagruti.org/activities/campaigns/national/mfhussain-campaign/

Frontline magazine article on Hussain is here--
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1416/14160820.htm

The Tongue Painter...

"An artist in India's southern Kerala state displays his talent for painting pictures using his tongue. Ani K, a drawing teacher, drew inspiration from a fellow artist who painted with his foot. However, learning his craft was not without its dangers as he suffered headaches and nausea from the paint fumes. Eventually he mastered the art and is now able to finish one canvas in 3-4 days," reports Reuters. A determined person... wonder if this will power could have been put to more productive use?



Here's what will follow, controversies about dishonoring Hindu gods, because he paints with his tongue (which is of course considered very disrespectful) and the harms of toxic paints... Goodness gracious is all I can say!

Picasso On Abstract Art

There is no abstract art. You must always start with something.
Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.
- Pablo Picasso

The Taj Mahal

Lonely Planet author Sarina Singh gives an interesting tour of the beautiful Taj Mahal.

The Million Dollar Dagger

Reuters reports that, "A gold encrusted dagger once owned by the Indian Emperor Shah Jahan who is famous for building the Taj Mahal could fetch $1 million at an auction in London. Shah Jahan's gold encrusted dagger was bought by a collector for less than a thousand dollars and is now expected to fetch up to a million dollars."

A Bharatnatyam Knight

Aniruddha Knight is the grandson of the renowned exponent of
Bharatnatyam, Balasarawathi. He is currently touring the US.
Exceptionally talented, he carries the beautiful art of Bharatnatyam
to a new level with ease and finesse.

Watch his dancing at--
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1416570538/bclid1497977517/bctid1494387761

An excerpt from the Newsweek article--
"He is tall, slim, and strikingly long limbed. Dressed in
jewel-colored silk tunics and antique ornaments that are family
heirlooms, he looks more like a handsome young maharaja than a
traditional South Indian dancer. But at 27, Aniruddha Knight is the
ninth generation heir of a 200-year-old family of professional dancers
and musicians from Chennai, India. He is also half American. His
father, Douglas Knight, married into this artistically rich family
when he studied classical drumming on a South Indian mridangam at
Wesleyan University, where Aniruddha's late grandmother--T.
Balasaraswati, India's prima danseuse--and her two musician brothers
had taught since 1962. This spring, Knight is touring the Northeast
with his six-member musical ensemble (including his father) and new
works in a program entitled "From the Heart of a Tradition."

That tradition is bharat natyam, one of India's six major--and
distinct--classical dance styles. It is taught to every middle-class
girl in India and now, with immigrant teachers and establishment of
dance schools across suburban America, it is vigorously practiced by
Indians and Americans alike. However, the version that Knight dances
is stylistically unique. It originated as a temple offering performed
by young women who were dedicated to serving God by retelling ancient
Hindu myths through music and dance in the temple courtyard. It was
art in the service of religion, an act of worship, not popular
entertainment. Eventually, some of the dancers were inducted by local
princely families into becoming court performers. A stigma attached to
the professional dancer that only disappeared when dance was
recognized as a national art form at the time of India's independence
in 1947, when the patronage of all dancers and musicians was taken
over and sanctified by the secular government.

It was in this climate that Balasaraswati was recognized as the
greatest Indian dancer of all time. Dance for Knight, as for his
grandmother, is spontaneous, not rehearsed as the music is: as the
ensemble sings a composition, he improvises movements; he follows the
music, even joins in. He takes the lead, giving his accompanists a cue
to move to the next line of text. In short, there is constant
communication between dancer and the accompanists. The star of the
show is first the music, then the dancer, who still uses the old
compositions handed down as prayer, a love song to God. As Bala
describes it, the aim is to create joy through beauty--a transporting
ecstatic experience that is shared by dancer and audience through
melody, rhythm and mime. Done right, the dancer could transport the
audience through a near out-of-body experience into a rapturous
state."

Read the full newsweek article at--
http://www.newsweek.com/id/131556

The Eccentric Artist

Yes artists are considered an eccentric sort, but painter, M.F.
Hussain is in a league all of his own. One of his faux pas's is his
derogatory portrayal of Hindu gods and goddesses. More protests by
Hindu groups in New York have been a precursor to the Christies
auction.

"Hindu activist groups in the US have threatened to hold a
demonstration at Christie's here unless the art gallery stops an
auction this week of paintings by celebrated Indian painter M F
Husain, who they say has hurt Hindus the world over for portraying
their gods in "derogatory" forms." says SIFY news, "In a letter to
Christie's, the Indian American Intellectual Forum, which has joined
hands with Hindu Janjagruti Samiti on the campaign against Husain,
said the artist has gained ignominy and notoriety in India by painting
several Hindu gods and goddesses in derogatory forms. As part of
Christie's New York auction March 20 of modern and contemporary art
from South Asia, Husain's paintings are expected to fetch hundreds of
thousands of dollars. One of them, "The Battle of Ganga and Yamuna" is
estimated to rake in $600,000-$800,000."

Hussain is currently in hiding and BBC reports that he may be living
in the Middle East.

Read the full SIFY article at --
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14624043

Read the full BBC article at --
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7303479.stm

My favorite animal paints as well !!!

See this Reuters video --

Big is not better!!!

Definitely, big is not always better... A great piece from the New
York Times on how you can be happy with what you have...

An excerpt--
"WHEN Suchitra Van and Nette Gaastra sent out invitations for their
October, 2005, wedding, they wrote on them "No gifts." What they meant
was: no toasters, no blenders, no coffeepots.

What they wanted instead was money to transform the 435-square-foot
apartment in Greenwich Village they had just bought for $296,000. They
planned to turn it into a one-bedroom from a studio.

They received $26,000 in gifts, including $22,000 from Ms. Gaastra's
father, Piet Gaastra, an architect in Hoorn, the Netherlands. "He saw
our struggle," said Ms. Gaastra, who is 30, and works for the Abelson
Company, a Manhattan graphic design company.

Mr. Van's mother, Champa Van, a cook and baby sitter who lives in
Queens, and his father, Sumatimohan, an artist who goes by one name
and lives in Manhattan, are divorced. "So my father gave us $300, and
my mother gave us another $300," said Mr. Van, who is 42, and has his
own design firm, Van Studio, on the Lower East Side.

Between the gifts and their own savings of $15,000, they were able to
renovate the apartment and finish it early last year, just in time for
the arrival of their son, Sebbe, who is now 1. Although the apartment
has only one window, which is in the living room, it is a surprisingly
airy, serene place."

Read the full article and see the pictures at --
http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?emc=tnt&tntget=2008/03/20/garden/20cheap.html&tntemail0=y

Chandigarh's Treasures

Chandigarh, a city conceived and designed by reknowned architect Le
Corbusier is supposed to be one of the most organized cities ever
built. It is usually not in the news, until I came across this article
in the New York Times which made me sit up and want to go back and
check out all those chairs and antique furniture at my grandparents
homes!!

An excerpt

"Every working day for the past 20 years, Suresh Kanwar, a civil
engineer in Chandigarh's Forestry Department, has been sitting on the
same battered wooden chair, an object he said had "no beauty" even if
it was, "for office use, very comfortable."

A man sat working on, and next to, an original Pierre Jeanneret teak
armchair at the Forestry Department in Chandigarh, India. Mr.
Jeanneret was a cousin of the architect Le Corbusier, who conceived
the modernist city in the 1950s.

Hazarding a guess as to its value, he suggested 400 rupees, or about
$10, "perhaps, at a junkyard."

A pair of chairs identical to Mr. Kanwar's, instantly recognizable to
collectors as Pierre Jeanneret teak "V-chairs," will go on sale at the
auction house Christie's in New York this month with a reserve of
$8,000 to $12,000."

Read the full article at --
http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntget=2008/03/19/world/asia/19chandigarh.html&tntemail0=y&oref=slogin

What is proper art?

In Baroda, a student was arrested for rendering improper art.

The New York Times reports--

The tempest began on May 9 when a lawyer accompanied by police officers and television news crews marched into the art department at the respected Maharaja Sayajirao University, a state-run institution in Vadodara, in western Gujarat state. (Gujarat’s elected government is led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.)

The lawyer, Niraj Jain, based locally and affiliated with the party, said he was aggrieved by several works exhibited on a wall in the department library, including a painting — or rather a digital enlargement of a painted work — depicting a female form wielding weapons in her many arms, evoking a goddess from the Hindu pantheon, and giving birth. It was the final-year art project by Chandramohan, a graduate student who goes by one name.

the full article is at the link below.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/19/arts/design/19hind.html ex=1337227200&en=dd40d4b9887d2cb1&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

This brings up the question of what is proper art? A question that is going to raise many controversies and ruffle the feathers of some religious fundamentalists.