It sure looks like Coimbatore is the first stop for those with dreams of making it in Tinseltown lately. While many established directors have their roots in their city, budding actors, directors and filmmakers confess to getting the much needed launch for their careers from the city.

“I did my schooling and college in Coimbatore, and moved to Chennai, where I started working as an assistant director a few years ago. My ambition had always been to get into the film industry, and the colleges here, with their screening of international films and interaction with some cinema stars, give us the initial exposure and the scope to think big in terms of making a foray into Kollywood,” says Kandesh Raj, actor, who has a Tamil and Malayalam film, which are soon expected to release.

Not just actors, many directors are emerging from the city with a limited budget, but very unique ideas. “I have always been fascinated by the process of filmmaking, and pursuing my undergraduation and postgraduation in visual communication from a city college gave me the confidence to make several short films, and a feature film was only a natural progression,” says S Kamalakannan, whose debut feature, Madhubaana Kadai (MBK) will be out in theatres next month.

The director admits that the technical crew, who racked up five years of industry experience in Chennai before assisting him in this film, made things that much easier.

“The city gives us a lot of scope to bring out creativity in our stories, and the advent of malls and multiplexes ensures that even off-beat themes are screened and well accepted here,” he reasons.

Another director admits to feeling a sense of gratitude with the city, which he has a strong connection with. “The most crucial years of my life have been spent in Coimbatore, and I have often watched three or four films over the weekend during my college years. Gauging the audience’s reaction to the films that were being screened gave me an insight into their thinking as well. My upcoming film is my way of paying tribute to the city that gave the confidence to become a director,” says Narayana Nagendra Rao, director of the soon-to-be released Maalai Pozhuthin Mayakathile.

While some local directors experiment with slice-of-life stories, others from the city tap into the industries that made it famous. “My film focuses on the evolution of the textile mill industry, tracing it’s history from the 50s to the current day. I have fit in a love story in those times of transition, as mills dominated Coimbatore, Pollachi and Udumalpet, and working in a textile mill was looked at as a status symbol in itself,” says Dhanapal Padmanabhan, director of the film Krishnaveni Panjali.

Dhanapal is impressed with the encouragement given by city colleges towards short films as well. “Colleges encourage a lot of creativity in short films, and that is a phenomenon restricted to this city. If the technical industry was based here, Coimbatore could well be on par with Chennai,” the director says, highly impressed by the city.

source: http://www.TimesofIndia.IndiaTimes.com / Home> Entertainment> Regional> Tamil / by Vaibhav Shastry/ TamilNadu, March 26th, 2012

Kamayani Bali Mahabal meets three sisters who took their interest in the weaver-poet, Kabir, to a new level.

So just what is common between three sisters from South India: Archana Sundararajan, a classical dancer from Madurai; Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy, a graphic designer from Bangalore, and Jaya Madhavan, a writer from Chennai? The poet, Kabir.

During the Kabir Festival held at Prithvi House in Mumbai last month, the trio staged a unique and thought-provoking presentation on the great poet-weaver, entitled ‘Ankath Kahani’, which translates as ‘Unsaid Story’. The Kabir festival is a voluntary effort by people from different walks of life, drawn together by their passion for the poetry of Kabir and the music of folk singers.

The performance of the sisters threaded story, song and dance into a unique “word-sound and movement” dramatisation, punctuated by personal sharing, excerpts from Kabir’s work and dance movements for selected couplets. But the pivot on which ‘Ankath Kahani’ rested was a song which they sang as an impassioned plea to the great weaver-poet, to evoke a sense of Kabir, the sensitive, sensible and spiritual being that is present in all of us.

Archana danced to Kumar Gandharva’s ‘Ud jaaega hans akela…’ even as Bindhumalini’s singing took audiences to a level where being is “just to be there”. The beautiful interpretation of the song, in dance form, mesmerised the 100-plus listeners as they chanted Kabir’s couplets with the sisters. Soon there seemed to be no difference between the performers and the audience — both entities had merged in the bliss of Kabir’s verse.

How did the women choose Kabir? It was Jaya who first took the plunge when she wrote a book on him seven years ago. She says, “Kabir was a fortuitous encounter, a life enhancing one for me.” Describing this journey she reveals that it was Linda Hess’s translations of Kabir’s work that first opened her eyes to the poet. “I was so enraptured by the man’s courage, vision and well — insanity — and the fact that there was so much drama around him, that I decided to record my responses to him as a play.”

She then wrote a short skit with just two characters — a warp and a weft — with her sister Bindhumalini and herself playing the two roles. The play was shot through with Kabir’s couplets, his ideals and anxieties; not as his admirers and protégés saw them but as an outsider who loved Kabir. The warp and weft became many things in the play: Hindu-Muslim, India-Pakistan, Mullah-Pundit — but never was Kabir evoked in his entirety. Looking back Jaya confesses, “I think he still had shades of grey in my mind then.”

At that point Jaya realised that she knew only two things about Kabir: One, that he was a poet, and, two, that he was a weaver. “The poet I seemed to know, the other I didn’t. So I took up weaving classes,” she laughs. That experience changed her view of the poet. As she puts it, “Frankly, it is the loom that showed me a glimpse of Kabir, and taught me creative introspection.

It is the ‘thakli’, the dye, the loom, the warp and the weft, which spoke of the image of the poet for me. I married the weaver and poet as the warp and weft to draw a fuller picture of Kabir. I really believed, like the much loved Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar (also a weaver), Kabir’s ‘dohas’, or couplets, were born out of the material at hand and his vocation. This may be the reason why the loom features so strongly in my book. It is as if it bears witness to his bursts of poetry,” she elaborates.

It was not just Jaya’s work that got influenced by Kabir, her life changed, too. “For a while I even did drastic things like trying to fit all my needs into a small bag and living out of it. I wanted to distinguish between needs and wants. I began reducing my needs, meditating regularly, walking to my destination, and so on. The man does that to you. Unlike other Bhakti poets we know, this man wants to take you along. He wants to share his truths with you,” reveals Jaya.

But how did her sisters get roped in? Says Bindhumalini, who is also a trained singer in Carnatic and Hindustani music, “What attracted me was that Kabir touches every aspect of life. Happiness, bliss, renunciation. He becomes the ultimate being, the guru, the formless one that speaks. And his special poems, called ‘Ulat Bansi’, really made me fall in love with him. He is abstract no doubt, but somewhere something will catch you and the insight hits hard.”

As for Archana, a trained Bharatanatyam dancer with an M.Phil in French, she discovered Kabir through the French language! “That was the catalyst. I got attracted to him when I started translating Jaya’s book into French. Later, I started to dance to Kumar Gandharva’s music on Kabir,” says Archana with a twinkle in her eyes.

Explaining their unique style of presentation — they just sit, read, sing and dance — the sisters say almost in unison, “Kabir, we felt, could be reached only through simplicity and with no pretension. He is someone you cannot claim to know. But we know ourselves and we know how we are impacted by Kabir. The lesser the distractions in the presentation, the better the focus.”  In other words, the less the audience looks towards the performers, the more they look inwards so there is nothing visually distracting about the presentation.

What are their favourite Kabir couplets? Archana says, a touch philosophically, “My favourite is ‘Maya Maha Thugni Hum Jaani’ (Maya is the biggest thug, I have come to understand the power of illusion to be a great thug). It perfectly suits my life. Everything is bound in ‘maya’, illusion. I totally believe that.” Jaya finds solace in ‘Dheere dheere re mana/Dheere sab kuch hoi/Mali seenche sau gade/Ritu aaye phal hoye (Slowly, slowly O mind/Everything happens at its own pace/The gardener may water with a hundred buckets/fruit arrives only in its season). “We are leading such fast lives and want everything to happen immediately, but we don’t realise everything has its own time,” says Jaya.

Humming the couplet, Bindhumalini indicates her choice: “Haman hein ishk mastana/Haman ko hoshiyari kya/Rahe aazad yeh jag se/ Haman duniya se yaari kya” (I am bursting with love/ Why do I need to be careful?/Being free in the world). Says she, “This is a beautiful poem in which Kabir talks about the blissful state of absolute love, supreme and unconditional love towards oneself and the world. Here, when everything becomes one, there is no waiting. When the lover is within oneself, why befriend anyone else? And so on. It talks of a happy state and the happiness in this song makes these seemingly difficult concepts or experiences really possible. When we are blissfully happy, don’t we lose ourselves as we merge with the world?”

The sisters now hope to keep sharing Kabir with more and more people. Says Jaya in conclusion, “We have kept our performance simple so that it fits all contexts. It is entirely up to the listeners on how they should interpret it. We are ready and willing to go anywhere. We operate within the spirit of sharing. We have performed in drawing rooms, conference halls, balconies and, well, now Prithvi House, too! It is Kabir and the listeners that matter to us. As long as the sharing continues, the journey will materialise on its own.”

source: http://www.DeccanHerald.com / Home> Supplements> She / DHNS, March 17th, 2012

People welcoming of British officials at 300 year- old wall painting in Uma Maheswarar temple at Konerirajapuram in Nagapattinam district. / Photo:B.Velankanni Raj

Ancient murals at Angavalanayagi Samedha Umamaheswaran temple at Konerirajapuram, about 20 km from Kumbakonam, are in danger of fading off soon, provoking calls for steps to preserve them.

Many of the paintings on the roof of the front mandapam and on the walls of the temple are peeling off fast. Interesting among the murals, said to be 150 to 200 years old, are those depicting the Thanjavur quartret, Chinnaiah, Ponnaiah, Sivanandam and Vadivel, who introduced the Thanjavur style of Bharatanatyam, welcoming Englishmen and poses of dance girls (‘adal mahalir’ in Tamil).

In line with the importance attached to the procession of the deity in the temple, a painting brings alive the ‘Swamy purappadu.’

“The purappadu is very famous in Konerirajapuram. The painting depicts a typical scene with hundreds of people watching the Lord being taken in the palanquin. It also shows Saivites and Vaishnavites watching the procession together, indicating that there were no differences among them,” says Dhenuka, an art critic of Kumbakonam, who has conducted detailed studies at the temple.

“The paintings should be renovated with the support of organisations such as the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH),” he said.

The Konerirajapuram temple, also called Thirunallam, houses one of the biggest bronze idols of Nataraja in the world. The 7.5 ft high Nataraja is a solid structure without any hollow space. “The idol belongs to the later Chola period though the temple was built by early Cholas nearly 1300 years before,” Mr. Dhenuka said.

The temple was built by Sembiyanmadevi, grandmother of Raja Raja Cholan, as a “Katrali” (stone structure) in memory of her husband Kandarathitha Cholan.  A sculpture of Sembiyanmadevi and inscriptions confirming that she had built the temple are found in the temple. The temple also has sculptures and inscriptions belonging to the period of various Chola kings.

The temple ‘vahanas'(vehicles), made of ‘athi maram’ (ficus wood) are also in a dilapidated condition and require renovation.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Arts> History & Culture / by G. Srinivasan / Thanjavur, March 03rd, 2012

Tiruchi Ramesh.   Photo: M. Periasamy

The rendition of kritis by Ramesh reflected his grooming under stalwarts.

The vocal concert by Tiruchi Ramesh, organised by Upasana, the cultural wing of Sri Kothandaramaswamy Devasthanam, Coimbatore, at Abhinava Vidyatheertha Pravachana Mandapam, reflected his good grooming under great teachers such as Musiri Gopalarathnam, Tiruchi Swaminatha Iyer and Thanjavur Sankara Iyer. His close association with Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer was evident in his alapana and swarakalpana.

Ramesh began with ‘Jai Jai Ganapathy Mangala Kaarin,’ by Ganapathy Sachindananda of Mysore Dutta Peetam. The old favourites ‘Vara Naarada Naaraayana’ in Vijayashree and ‘Nenarunchi Naanu’ in Malavi followed. The briga-filled portrayal of Ritigowla gave a good sample of yesteryear music that filled the rasikas with nostalgia. This was followed by an emotional ‘Nannu Vidachi Kadhalakuraa,’ by Saint Tyagaraja, who pleads with Rama not to leave him.

CASCADING SWARAS

The refreshing kalpanaswaras for ‘Padavini Sadbhakti’ in Salaka Bhairavi were enjoyable. The main piece was in Sriranjani. When people were expecting a pallavi after the elaborate ragam and tanam, Ramesh surprised everyone with ‘Marubalka,’ another popular composition of Tyagaraja. The cascading swaras in rapid succession evoked admiration for his skill and hard work.

Mullaivasal Chandramouli’s violin was smooth and delightful. The beauty of Ramesh’s presentation appeared in a more pronounced manner in his violin. A disciple of Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Konerirajapuram Varadarajan wove interesting rhythmic patterns on his mridangam, while Tiruchi K. Shekhar (ganjira) and Malaikottai R.M. Deena Dayalan (morsing) joined him with joyous supplements. Their brilliant individual performance was as appealing as their combined outpouring. Though Ramesh took some time to gain momentum he was full of spirit and energy till he concluded his concert with the Thiruppugazh verse, ‘Apagaara Nindhai Pattuzhalaadhe’.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Arts> Music / by RamaDevi / March 01st, 2012

 Bangalore, February 24, 2012

Cobalt, a leading integrated marketing communications company headquartered in Bangalore, presents the first edition of the Music. Arts. Dance. (M.A.D.) Festival.

Spread over three long days of summer; the festival is an annual cultural extravaganza that will promote India’s most fascinating destinations, and showcase an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary music, arts, dance and other performing arts; cutting across genres, from across and beyond the country. The festival will unfold at a different destination, every couple of years.

The festival brings world class artistes from different genres of music, arts and dance, from India & around the globe to one exotic location. Be it kathak, electronica, heavy metal, rock, jazz, blues, folk, funk, fusion, flamenco, sufi, world, one can find most of it here. The festival will also feature performances by the 6 primary tribes of the Nilgiri, some of who are over a 1000 years old. Festival goers will also get the rare opportunity to interact with the tribes and learn about them, their skills, their music, art & dance forms. The festival is to take place at the historical Fernhill Palace in Ooty from the April 5-7, 2012.

Some of the artistes/bands performing at The M.A.D Festival includes the likes of Indian Ocean, Raghu Dixit Project, Thermal and a Quarter, Soulmate, Skinny Alley, and other world class young & upcoming bands from India. The International bands playing at the festival are Franco-Morrocan singer Hindi Zarah, State Of Bengal Live from the UK who will be collaborating with Paban Das Baul, Indialucia from Poland, No Blues from Amsterdam, and other renowned live acts.

The festival has two stages it’s going to be quite mad, because fans will be running from one stage to the other, to catch the fantastic performances. Having said that, festival-goers can still catch performances on both stages, since there is a 30 minute difference between the stages. The crossover between these two stages will be the MAD Bazaar consisting of 50 stalls brimming with unique, innovative, & quirky products made by creative individuals from all over India. The idea of the bazaar is to bring creative people together, promote them and give them a platform to showcase and sell their work. Hand illustrated helmets, shoes and posters, silver and brass jewellery, innovatively designed bags made with old clothes, silk screen printed cushion covers, organic cotton dresses and a plethora of products one would not normally find in big city shops will be available at the bazaar. The market will be rustic, keeping in mind the natural environment.

The organizers have chosen Ooty as the destination, for three reasons; one being it’s a location straight out of a dream. The other reason is that it’s strategically located; its central to three states, and is only just a few hours away from Coimbatore, Chennai, Bangalore, Mysore, Coorg, Manipal, Calicut, and Thrissur. The airports closest to Ooty are in Coimbatore; which is 3 hours by road, and in Bangalore; which is 5 hours by road. And, while temperatures will be soaring in most parts of the country, the venue; the Fernhill Palace will remain cool and pleasant, is its located 6000 feet above sea level, with an altitude of 2300 meters, and its beautiful green landscapes will keep festival goers revived and refreshed all through. Ooty makes for an ideal getaway this summer.

The festival is divided into 10 areas; “Two stages” that will see performances right through the day. A “jam zone” where folks can bring their own music instruments and jam together, meet new people and even learn from each other. A “Bar in the woods,” Two “Food courts” and a “coffee lounge” for teetotalers. They also have a “Paintball Zone” for paintball freaks, as the popularity of the game is growing rapidly. Kids will be taken care of too at a special “play area for kids” so parents can take time off, relax and enjoy the festival.

That apart, a range of workshops will be facilitated over three days, by renowned artistes & field experts, during the course of ones stay at the festival. One has to register on the festival’s website to participate in workshops of music, dance, yoga, photography, and juggling, these workshops will equip a person with the necessary knowledge and secrets to get started, and promise to open doors to an exciting new world. These workshops will range right from the beginner level up to the senior level and is for people across all age groups.

One of the many reasons that make this M.A.D Festival unique, is that it breaks away from the age old concept of headlining acts. The idea is to give folks a mad mix of great performances that they can enjoy right through the day. The security at the venue will be very tight, there are CCTV camera’s across the venue to ensure maximum security, sniffer dogs along with security personnel will ensure that the festival is a drug free, and clean affair. So folks, leave your paranoia behind, and go with music in your hearts.

source: http://www.afaqs.com / Section: other Briefs> Category: Corporate / February 24th, 2012