Author: The Metrognome

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Watch

Watch: Films by Satyajit Ray

Today and tomorrow, two Ray classics will be screened at the Max Mueller Bhavan. Don’t miss these films for anything.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

This evening and tomorrow, spend your time wisely – revisit Satyajit Ray’s iconic classics Charulata and Mahanagar. Max Mueller Bhavan is screening both these films in the evening hours.  (See directions and timings below).

Charulata is based on a story by Rabindranath Tagore ‘Nastanirh’ (The broken nest), Satyajit Ray’s exquisite story of a woman’s artistic and romantic yearning takes place in late 19th century, pre-independence India, in the gracious home of a liberal-minded, workaholic newspaper editor and his lonely wife, Charulata (Madhabi Mukherjee). When her husband’s poet cousin (Soumitra Chatterjee) comes to stay with them, Charulata finds herself both creatively inspired and dangerously drawn to him. Charulata is a work of subtle textures, a delicate tale of a marriage in jeopardy and a woman taking the first steps toward establishing her own voice. The film was shown at the 1965 Berlin Film Festival and is considered one of Ray’s finest works.

MahanagarMahanagar (in pic on left) is based on Calcutta in the mid 1950s. The film opens with a vignette of a lower middle-class family. Based on a novel by Narbenda Nath Mitra, Satyajit Ray takes a rare foray into social satire with 1963’s The Big City. Anil Chaterjee stars as the typically subjugated wife of an Indian bank official. When the banker loses his job, he orders Anil to find work to make ends meet. The wife subsequently runs the household finances so brilliantly that soon she is in the driver’s seat, in direct opposition to long-established Indian matrimonial custom. This film was seen by some critics as a subtle plea for improving the status of Indian womanhood.

Both films will screen at Bibliothek, Max Mueller Bhavan, Kala Ghoda, at 6.30 pm. Charulata will screen on Friday, October 10 and Mahanagar on Saturday, October 11. Entry is free.

(Pictures courtesy www.livemint.com, ibnlive.com)

Categories
Big story

Maharashtra universities step up for Kashmir

Universities of Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Nanded and SNDT have jointly raised Rs 96 lakh for Kashmir relief, rescue efforts.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The country has already stepped up to generously contribute for the recent tragedy in Kashmir. But the State of Maharashtra’s universities have collectively raised a little under Rs 1 crore.

The Vice Chancellors of Pune, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Nanded Universities met the Governor of Maharashtra and Chancellor of Universities in the State, Ch Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan yesterday, October 8, and presented to him separate cheques aggregating Rs 61.78 lakh. The cheques were addressed to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the rehabilitation of persons affected by the floods in Jammu and Kashmir. The Governor welcomed the gesture of the Universities and sent the cheques to the Prime Minister’s office.

While Dr Wasudeo Gade, Vice Chancellor of the Savitribai Phule University of Pune presented a cheque of Rs 30 lakh for the PM’s Relief Fund, Dr BA Chopade, Vice Chancellor of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University gave a cheque of Rs 15 lakh. The Vice Chancellor of Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Prof Dr NJ Pawar gave a cheque of Rs 10 lakh for the PM’s Relief Fund, while the Vice Chancellor of the Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, Dr Pandit Vidyasagar, gave a sum of Rs 6.78 lakh as contribution of the University’s staff towards the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.

Previously, the University of Mumbai had given Rs 25 lakh and the SNDT University had donated Rs 10 lakhs to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for the rehabilitation of persons affected by the floods in Jammu and Kashmir.

Categories
Event

This lit fest celebrates ‘Indianness’ in literature

‘Litomania’ will feature writers like Amish Tripathi and Ashwin Sanghi, among 50 best-selling authors; look out for debates, discussions and workshops.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Think WhyNot Group (TYN) has announced the launch of a unique lit fest – ‘Litomania – The October lit fest’. This lit fest claims its USP in its focus on “Indianness” of literature.

The fest will celebrate the renaissance of Indian writing with the presence of 50 top authors on one platform. It is selectively focussed only on best-selling Indian literature, to reflect the theme ‘What India is reading’.

Sangram Surve, CEO, Think WhyNot Group and Festival Director, Litomania says, “We have ensured that the fest features the top 20 per cent of authors that contribute to 80 per cent of the revenues in the Indian publishing industry. The fest will be an annual property and continue to bring readers and top authors together.”

The Advisory Board for the fest includes popular bestselling Indian writers, Amish Tripathi, Ashwin Sanghi and Ravi Subramanian and industry stalwart Sivaraman Balakrishnan.

The organisers decided to hold a literature fest along these lines because “there is no litfest dedicated purely to popular Indian writing. Indian authors have done exceedingly well in recent years. Indian readers have taken a fancy for Indian writing. The festival will provide a platform for readers to discover what motivates their favourite authors to write. The litfest will aim at nurturing reading, ideas and dialogue and will showcase the range and diversity of Indian literature,” says Sangram.  

At the fest, one can expect interactions with top Indian authors through genre-specific discussions, book launches, master classes, workshops and entertainment. The weekend will be interesting for children as well, with specialised workshops like ‘Publishing for Kids’ and a ‘Wildlife workshop’ to be organised, among others.

The Master Classes will be held on the themes ‘How to write a book and publish it’ by Ravi Subramanian, ‘Turning a book into a movie’ by publicist Caleb Franklin, ‘Bloody Good Luck’ by Ashwin Sanghi, ‘Supermarketwala’ by Retail doyen, Damodar Mall, a session by international trainer Priya Kumar, talk on the ‘The Journey Home’ by Radhanath Swami, session on ‘Beyond Pink’ with Sangeeta Mall and Meghna Pant, session with Prakash Iyer on ‘Unleashing the leader within’ and many more.

There will also be a culinary panel, a mythology panel, a thriller panel, a romance panel, a humour panel, a politics panel and a management panel, all featuring noted authors in those genres.

The Litomania fest will be held at We School, from October 10 to 12. 

Categories
Trends

Malls staying open longer this season

Malls are cashing in on consumers’ festive spends by staying open longer than usual; many other experiences are on offer.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

This Diwali, you can go shopping at midnight. Really. You don’t have to wait for your weekend break to go shopping and wait endless hours in long lines at the payment counter, either. After work, just head to the nearest big shopping mall.

Malls in the city have revised their closing time to suit the increased footfall and busy lifestyles of Mumbaikars, with most major stores remaining open till midnight to suit shoppers. High Street Phoenix was the first off the block, with timings being revised from October 1, 2014. The mall added many new brands before the month began, and has thrown in midnight musical performances for shoppers as well. The mall remains open till 11 pm on weekends and 10 pm on weekdays.

Said Rajendra Kalkar, Senior Centre Director, The Phoenix Mills Limited,”We are enthused about extending our timings for new initiatives which are customised to the comfort and convenience of our patrons. We witness many shoppers who find it difficult to manage their leisure time post work due to accessibility at odd hours. This campaign intends to be a boon to such work-life balance.”

Other malls, too, like the Inorbit Mall in Malad and Vashi, have reportedly extended their timings to suit shoppers this season. Veera Mukherjee, a housewife based in Kandivali said, “I hope malls always remain open till late hours, because there are huge crowds in the evening hours of 6 pm to 8 pm. Shopping becomes easier once the crowds beginning to taper. If possible, they should also open for business earlier so that people can shop on their way to work.”

Another shopper, Akhil Morarka, said, “I need to buy gifts for my family back home in Bangalore. It is great news if malls remain open beyond 10 pm so that people like me can go shopping after work. Otherwise I have to do some last-minute shopping over the weekend.”

(Image courtesy mumbai77.com. Picture used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Event

Masterchef Australia’s Sarah Todd is coming to Mumbai

One of the most popular contestants on this year’s edition of Masterchef Australia will visit Bandra on October 14. Register now.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

She is young, talented and extremely pretty. Besides, she featured in one of the most popular shows on Indian TV, Masterchef Australia. Sarah Todd is visiting Mumbai next week, and she will share cooking tips with a lucky few who wish to meet her.

The meetup will be held at Godrej Nature’s Basket, in association with Tourism Australia on October 14, 2014 at 4 pm. The model and chef will exhibit her formidable cooking skills live by whipping up some unique dishes using popular Australian ingredients.

Entry to the event is by registration only. Call 26425050 /26421122 to register for the event.

Categories
Do

Attend: ‘Stillness in Motion’, pottery and painting exhibition

A melange of canvas and clay, the showing will feature pottery work by Shalan Dere and paintings by Radhika Bawa. Don’t miss.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

With the onset of the festive season, the city is currently deluged with several high-quality events and exhibitions. A noteworthy example of these is ‘Stillness in Motion’, an exclusive display of art work through a culmination of paintings and pottery.

The week-long exhibition starts today, October 6 and continues till October 11 in Mumbai and includes a marvellous collection of horse paintings by Radhika Bawa and enticing colourful pottery by Shalan Dere. The motion of the wheel and horses produces the beautiful stillness that has been captured in the form of pottery and paintings with the artists’ mindfulness and enthusiasm for art.

Shalan Dere's work for Stillness in Motion - CopyShalan Dere, a business management professional-turned-potter is the proud owner of Potters Place, a pottery studio in Mahim. She also conducts regular pottery classes. Radhika Bawa is a painter and an art connoisseur who creates magic with her paintbrush and has participated in numerous shows. Shalan and Radhika have come together for the first time to express their unique interpretation of colours and forms.

Shalan will showcase simple wheel-thrown forms in unique shades of colours. With great likeness for aesthetic sensibility, she brings various forms of clay to life. Testing and trying new hues with different glaze techniques is her forte. Every pot is a piece woven with amazing colours especially blue, turquoise and brown. Fired with alternative firing techniques, like Raku resulting in a vibrant metallic sheen and Saggar firing which results in very soothing, marble like finish, each pot is unique in its form and color.

Radhika will showcase a series of paintings of horses in acrylic and water colors as a medium to express her understanding of the physical form. A horse lends itself as an apt medium due to its rugged yet graceful structure and symmetry in its creation. What makes these conversation pieces stand out is the artist’s attempt to visualise plains and contours through different colours and textures alone and eliminating the infusion of lines in the painting. Radhika has beautifully captured the various moods of a horse through her brushstrokes and brought to life its power, agony and beauty.

Largely self- taught, both artists believed there is a certain stillness in every motion.

Head to the Bajaj Art Gallery, Bajaj Bhavan, Jamnalal Bajaj Road, Nariman Point, between 11 am to 7 pm. Call 9773095005/9820329807 for details.

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