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After the rains, India
Posted in Flowers, India, Photography
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John Lithgow at the National Theatre London
Last night we went to the National Theatre to see a performance by John Lithgow. It was something I had never seen before – an actor telling a short story. No, he wasn’t reading it. He was actually telling it from memory, enacting the whole story as he went along. The joy of hearing a story from a famous actor like him was doubled as he chose two stories which were particularly well written. The first one was from P. G. Wodehouse and the second one was written by Ring Lardner. One was funny and the other was tragic but with shades of black humour.
It was amazing to see how one man could hold the attention of the audience for two hours on a stage. As I knew him from his television show “Third Rock From the Sun” I did not expect him to have such a phenomenal memory and was absolutely in admiration at this feat.
Yesterday evening was special to him as much as it was to us. He announced at the start that it was his 64th birthday, something I already knew, and that it was the first time ever that he was on a stage in London.
We wish John many happy returns of 19th October.
South Asian Cinema Foundation Film Festival
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Film Director Girish Kasaravalli
9th – 12th October 2009
The beginnings of South Asian Cinema Foundation go back to January 2000 when over a pizza Lalit Mohan Joshi suggested to fellow film-buffs and experts Derek Malcolm and P.K.Nair that an organisation should be set up which would promote artistic Indian cinema in the UK. For almost a decade now that effort has been going on to hold film festivals and workshops as well as to honour outstanding filmmakers. The foundation also brings out a journal, each issue of which takes up a different theme.
The person behind all these activities is Lalit Mohan Joshi, Director of SACF, editor of the SAC journal, who is also a senior broadcaster who works as a freelancer for BBC Hindi service. He is joined by his equally passionate family in this endeavour he has undertaken.
“Here in the West people think there is nothing beyond Bollywood cinema in India. That is a myopic view and that view needs to be corrected,” he says, adding “Our mission is to build film culture, to promote meaningful cinema.” SACF has set up an archive where one can consult back issues of their journal, and go through a collection of nearly 300 film classics of South Asia. One can also buy the back issues of the SAC journal and other SACF products.
The foundation has instituted an award – Excellence in Cinema – which is given once every two years to a filmmaker who has made a mark. “Even if he has made a couple of films but if they have a timeless quality then we like to recognise that and honour him,” Mr.Joshi points out.
Making full use of the presence of the recipient of the award in London SACF organises the screening of his films and other activities where the filmmaker interacts with participants and the audience. This makes him accessible to the viewing public.
This year the award is being given to Girish Kasaravalli who is considered the Satyajit Ray of Karnataka and who has won the President’s Golden Lotus Award in India four times. He has made barely 12 films in his 35-year career, putting all his attention into the details of his creation and making films with his limited means. He will be felicitated at the Nehru Centre on 9th October. Five of his films will be screened at Watermans over the next 4 days and there will also be a Masterclass conducted by Farrukh Dhondy on the 11th at the University of Westminster.
On the 12th at the Nehru Centre another eminent film personality, Chandraprakash Dwivedi, will speak and answer Lalit Mohan Joshi’s questions. Dwivedi will also receive a Cultural Catalyst Award from the SACF for his commitment and projection of India’s rich cultural heritage in his TV serials like Chanakya and the forthcoming Upanishad Ganga.
This annual event organised by the SACF is a good occasion to find out more about regional filmmakers of India whose films go beyond entertainment and speak of deeper thoughts and sentiments. One is not likely to find these films at the local DVD shops but they bring a note of realism which nudges people to sit up and think. SACF is a broad umbrella which also screens films from Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
“The only way to encourage people to make meaningful cinema is to create an audience which understands that genre of films,” says Lalit Mohan Joshi.
Posted in Film, India, London
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Kew Gardens, London
We visited Kew Gardens and enjoyed seeing the glasshouses which had tropical plants. Suddenly we were in the middle of gardens which reminded us of India. The smells and colours were all so familiar.
In fact, I was quite surprised to see so many Indians in Kew Gardens. It seems to be on the Indian tourists’ list of things to see in London. This is of course for the wealthy tourist because the entry ticket to Kew costs £13.
At the end of our visit we saw the temporary gallery (the Shirley Shirwood Collection) which is quite near the exit. On display were exquisite botanical paintings. It’s easy to miss the gallery if one doesn’t know about it. All the paintings are very skilfully executed and there is such a strong atmosphere of peace in the gallery that even if one is not interested in art one can still enjoy being there.
I would recommend it to everyone. Art and nature go very well together.
Indian Summer at the British Museum
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Maharaja Playing Holi
No, it’s not about global warming. This is an exhibition of paintings from the royal collection of Jodhpur. Although they are in the miniature style the paintings are in poster size sheets. There is such a wealth of information about the historical context in which they were done that this exhibition is really like an illustrated history book. The pictures are very decorative at the beginning and gradually get more and more subtle and bare. The exhibition traces the history of three generations of rulers of Jodhpur in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
The last section is particularly interesting as it deals with the representation of the esoteric knowledge of the Nath yogis who were practically the power behind the throne during the reign of Maharaja Man Singh. There is a very beautiful illustration of the story of creation with Purusha and Prakriti taking a male and a female form to create the world. The Creation of the Cosmic Ocean and Elements
On display until 11th October.
Notting Hill Carnival
We went to see the Notting Hill Carnival on Sunday. All the roads in that area had been blocked to traffic and there were policemen everywhere. We managed to see a bit of the procession even though it was quite late in the afternoon. There were little food stalls all along the roads where the carnival was being held. Even those who had come to watch the processions were dressed in very bright clothes. We discovered a very nice café called “Le Pain Quotidien” and sat down for a while.
We sensed the ambiance although there weren’t so many people on the roads by then. It was interesting to see this completely different kind of energy on the streets. Just shows how different worlds co-exist in today’s multicultural Britain.
All’s Well That Ends Well, National Theatre, London
Yesterday I went to see a play at the Olivier Theatre within the National Theatre. It was a bonus that the play was one written by Shakespeare. This was the fulfilment of a long-cherished dream. I had already taken the backstage tour in 2007 and marvelled at the world that lies behind the stage.
The play, All’s Well that Ends Well, was presented as a fairytale. The décor and the costumes followed this theme and what would have been an unnecessarily complicated story turned out to be an enchanting experience. In fact, the costumes jumped from one historical era to another without disturbing the story- telling precisely because it was expected to be a fairytale and not a factual presentation.
The lead actress Michelle Terry was very effectively cast as Helena. What kept the audience spell-bound was her earnestness, her very sincere expression of her love for Bertram. How fine an actress she is can be judged from the fact that her honesty shone brighter than the old King’s crown or her sparkling “Cinderella” shoes, or even the twinkling stars against the dark sky of the backdrop. The two older characters, the King and the old Countess were played with great conviction.
The way the story moved, without wasting a moment between scenes, shows the skill of the director, Marianne Elliott, whose imaginative touches throughout the production prove that one can take a Shakespearian play and make something modern and thoroughly enjoyable out of it. The innovative choreography of the opening scene as well as the closing one is just one example of her creative energy at work.
I watched the Saturday afternoon matinee show and was a bit disappointed to see that a lot of seats in the upper circle were empty and the stalls were full of very old people. A pity, because this is really a play for the young.
New Book
At long last and after much effort my first book is out. It’s a collection of my essays which came out in The Golden Chain. The text was already written but the experience of actually getting the book published and printed was totally new, and many lessons have been learnt from it.
Seven Dedicated Lives, as the book is called, is meant for those who know the Sri Aurobindo Ashram only from far and who are not familiar with the early years of the institution.
The cover is a photograph taken some years ago by Giles of hollyhocks growing in our neighbour’s garden in London. I would never have imagined that those moments we stood admiring the flowers would one day be transformed into a book cover.
I hope everyone enjoys reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing the essays.
The book is available through SABDA.
Posted in History, India, Publishing, SABDA, Sri Aurobindo, The Mother
Tagged biography, book, History, publishing, SABDA, Sri Aurobindo, The Mother
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Doha
This time I came to London with Qatar Airways. It was clearly a change from the journey which I used to make earlier with Srilankan, passing through Colombo. Instead of the lush green coconut trees which I could see all around the airport, this time I saw kilometres and kilometres of sand everywhere. This has an austere beauty which is striking. The service on Qatar is above average and their inflight entertainment has a very wide range of films.
The airport at Doha, however, is small and has very little to offer by way of food and drinks. There are a few phone booths but the phone cards are expensive and there are no instructions in English.
One of the most positive things about taking Qatar Airways to come from India to the UK is that you have to change planes at Doha. This gives you the time to stretch your legs before taking the second flight. You arrive in London less tired than if you had taken one long 12-hour flight.
Rain-making in Orissa
I am in Sambalpur now, in Western Orissa. The temperature on 21st June was 47 degrees. The water level in the Hirakud dam is dangerously low and so there is very little electricity. 47 degrees and power cuts. Things can’t get worse than that.
On the 23rd there was a special ceremony which was performed by one of the temples on the banks of the river Mahanadi, to bring the rains which are late by a month. A marble staue of a bull was taken in a boat to the deepest point of the river and thrown into the water. It is believed that when the bull is drowning it cries out for help and seeing its plight Indra, the god of rain, comes rushing to save him and behind him come all the clouds.
However, the bull is the vahana of Shiva, so why does Indra come running to help him? My guess is that this ritual is an ancient one when they used to actually sacrifice a living bull to please the gods. With time animal sacrifices were abolished and the ceremony was changed slightly and now a statue of a bull is “killed”. Obviously, the beheading was replaced with drowning.
The strange thing is that since the 24th it has actually been very cloudy, although it hasn’t actually rained.
London City Airport
Last weekend we went to Scotland. We were at the London City Airport on Friday evening. It was the second time we were taking a flight out of this small but comfortable airport. The DLR stop is just yards away from the entrance and once you are there, you are only steps away from the escalator that takes you to the security check. If you have checked in online all you have to do is go to the lounge on the upper floor. As we discovered during our last trip, the ground floor is nothing compared to the facilities and the shopping outlets on the first floor. The most attractive features are the relaxing chairs and the good news is that there are a very large number of them. One can also sit at the far end, just near the large glass panes and see the planes take off on the runway. In fact, there is a narrow table there which allows passengers to put their laptops on it and work while they wait. There are sockets on the panel where you can plug your laptop and work undisturbed. The airport is small but compact and everything is just a few steps away.
Posted in General, London, Travel
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Paris
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Daffodils, Paris
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Place Dupleix
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Tour Eiffel
We landed in Paris on the 27th February and went straight to Hotel Tourisme. It’s a quiet little hotel, almost invisible from the road, in the 15th Arrondisement just a few steps from the metro station Motte Picquet-Grenelle. We were delighted to see that we were just next to La Rue de Pondichery. Eating out was a pleasure as there were a number of little restaurants, and a range of different kinds of cuisine. We walked down to Champs de Mars which was within walking distance. In the evening we bought a bunch of daffodils, and I’m so glad we did because they were so perfect. We practically saw them opening in front of our eyes in the warmth of our hotel room.
Posted in Flowers, France, General, Photography
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