Art and Craft Fair at Emami Chisel, December, 2009

Conceived by Richa Agarwal, of ECA, it was a unique idea the first of its kind in the city, aimed to bring traditional, folk as well as contemporary art together at affordable prices was well received by connoisseurs, collectors as well as by the casual visitor.

The collection was varied and aimed at being practical. From wooden and stone sculptures to brassworks, Dokra works and wall hangings, it also featured seasoned teakwood furniture.

The Fair was inaugurated by National Award winning actress Rituparna Sengupta, who herself was suitably impressed by the collection. “I am fascinated by the sheer variety of the exhibits,” she said, after going around, adding, “The beauty of the gilded Tanjore paintings has left me speechless.”

The Fair displayed works by artists, artisans and sculptors, mainly from South India, Rajasthan, Orissa and West Bengal. The furniture section had works by Amitabh Bachhawat, who is best known for designing the seasoned desks and chairs at Hogwarts the witch school of the Harry Potter movies. One of the important features of the exhibition was the display of small format works of some young artists.

Rituparna Sengupta was right when she said, “ECA deserves a big round of applause for organizing such a fair,” at the inauguration. Kolkatans lived up to her appeal, as they visited and took in the novelty with great enthusiasm. The turnout at the event was so large that it prompted the organizers to keep the show open even on holidays.

Report by Ritendra Roy

Krishna Ranga Raachi

Padmavibhusan Dr. Sonal Mansingh at Kolkata

PARAMPARA, New Delhi an organization dedicated to Art, Culture, and Literature etc under Founder & President K.N. Memani and Convenor Kiran Memani brings Geet Katha “Krishna Ranga Raachi” by Padmavibhusan Sonal Mansingh to Kolkata on Monday 1st February, 2010 from 6:30 pm at Satyajit Ray Auditorium ICCR, 9 A Ho-Chi-Minh Sarani (Harrington Street).

Sonal Mansingh opens a new chapter in her career today with the offering of the Geet Katha, one of the oldest forms of engagement with people through history, telling and singing songs to carry the story forward “Krishna Ranga Raachi”.

PM's concern regarding the way India preserves and displays its historical and cultural artifacts

Kolkata, January: Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, during his recent visit to Kolkata on the occasion of 150th anniversary celebrations of St. Xavier's Collegiate school said that India and Bangladesh would jointly celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in May, 2011. He also said that he has talked to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to make this effort a success. During his speech, Dr. Manmohan Singh also emphasized on the point that a special Rs. 90 crore has been allocated in 2009-10 to modernize the four cultural institutions of Kolkata, namely the Asiatic Society, the Indian Museum, the Victoria Memorial and the National Library, but the fund has not been properly utilized in the last year. He hopes that the institutions would put in the extra effort to utilize the fund in the current year.

On the occasion of Tagore's birth anniversary celebration, the Prime Minister said that the centre would take the necessary measures to restore the valuable paintings, sculptures, murals and hand written manuscripts of the poet. He also hopes to modernize the two national heritage buildings- the Rabindra Bhavan and the Kala Bhavana of Santiniketan. He also voiced his concern over the publication of Rabindra Chitraa-vali comprising of Tagore's paintings and a comprehensive volume of his literary works.

Dr. Singh mentioned in his speech that an urgent change is needed in preserving our museums, libraries and our academies. New technology and management is required to sustain this historical and archaeological wealth. He also said that new talents in the field of literary, visual and performing arts should be promoted in our country. The manner in which India preserves and displays its historical and cultural artifacts is beyond the international standard, according to him. He said that there are no reasons why India cannot match up to the world class standards of the museums all over the world. The Central Advisory Board has been asked by him to suggest a course of action in order to improve the condition of the museums all over India. He mentioned in his speech that he would look into the matter and certain features like multi-media display, design, lighting, narration and communication would be incorporated into the museums so that visiting a museum would be an experience to remember for the people. The Ministry of Culture will help the state in the revival of two major cultural institutions of Kolkata like the Academy of Fine Arts and the Government College of Arts and Crafts. Chief Minister of the state, Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has proposed to Dr. Manmohan Singh for setting up of a Kolkata Museum of Modern Art through a public and private partnership. The Prime Minister also said that he is keen to convert Acharya Bhawan of India's great scientist J.C. Bose into a science heritage museum and steps have been taken to improve Sir Jadunath Sarkar Archives and Museum.

Indo-Swedish Art & Cultural Exchange Programme to take place in 2010

Kolkata January, - A Swedish delegation from the city of Gothenburg visited Kolkata on 22 January, 2010 to initiate the process of a new beginning of an exciting cultural exchange programme between the two culturally sound cities. Part of the delegation comprised of the Deputy Mayor of Gothenburg Miss Elisabet Rothenberg, Head of Cultural Events in Gothenburg and the Western Region - Oscar Aschan , Head of Gothenburg Art Hall Vasa- Hakan Lindblom.

In their honour Vikram & Priya Bachhawat- Directors of Aakriti Art Gallery had thrown a party at the Park on 23 January night, where all the Swedish delegates, reputed artists of Kolkata like Sunil De, Tapas Konar, Amitava Dhar, Atin Basak, Chhatrapati Dutta, Chandra Bhattacharya, Prasenjit Sengupta, Samindranath Majumder, Sekhar Roy, Prabhat Basu & Ashoke Mullick, well known art connoisseurs and Sohonjeet S. Randhawa-Head of Volvo Buses in India were present. The guests also included Mr & Mrs. Aloke Mukherjee, Honorary Consul of Sweden, Alan & Natalie Smith from the American Consulate and famous Italian film maker Sergio Scapagnini.

The exchange programme would consist of Art camp at Gothenburg in August and the same at Kolkata in December 2010, along with a fashion show. As a part of the programme, a Swedish food & beverage festival would take place in Kolkata where Michelin chefs of Sweden would drop in Kolkata to offer some mouth watering
Swedish delicacies. Traditional Swedish dance, promotion of Swedish tourism and environment awareness programmes are on the cards of the Kolkata chapter. Another spectacular event that Kolkata would experience during December 2010 is a film festival of the reputed Swedish film maker Ingmar Bergman that would hit the multiplexes. Kolkata may also host a football match between a Swedish team and a Kolkata football team and a corporate golf tournament. Discussions are also on for the exchange of business delegations between the two cities.

The Deputy Mayor of Gothenburg Miss Elisabet Rothenberg also spoke to the Mayor of Kolkata regarding this exchange programme. According to Miss Rothenberg, her Kolkata counterpart is also equally interested and excited about this exchange programme. When asked why the Swedish delegation plans to have an exchange programme with Kolkata, she said that there is a lot of things to learn from Kolkata and the people over here are very much perceptible to the cultural happenings. She also thinks that if this programme works out properly, then they can think of further cultural involvement with Kolkata in the future. According to Oscar Aschan- Head of Cultural Events in Gothenburg and the Western Region. This exchange programme marks the beginning of a new cultural tie up between Kolkata and Gothenburg.

Sourya Deb