(From top): Daler Mehndi and (right) Hariharan at the launch of Destiny; a scene from The Pearl Fishers; Kekoo Gandhy of Gallery Chemould with Nirmala Patwardhan at the launch of The New Handbook of Potters

You have to admit, Daler Mehndi and Hariharan are an unusual combination! Yet, these two talents have been brought together for the first time by Shashi Gopal, president of DNUO Music, for a brand new music album called Destiny. The album was launched at the Ambassador hotel in Delhi recently and the event was attended by Gopal, his son and MD of DNUO, Aditya Gopal, singers Mehndi and Hariharan as well as composer Dinesh Pandit.

The album has been recorded in London with renowned musicians Errol Reid and Stephen Luscombe on the keyboards, Mauro Caccialanza and Randy Obasa on bass, Trevor Morral on drums, Sagat Guirey, Kaari Bannerman and Carmello Luggeri strumming the guitars and Sultan Khan and Liaqat Ali on the sarangi. Dinesh Pandit, a London-based musician has composed the music for the album and the lyrics have been penned by lyricist Nida Fazli. What’s on the musical menu? Solos and duets by the two singers in addition to solos by singer Richa Sharma.

“Both Hariharan and Daler have carved out niches for themselves in the industry,” said Shashi Gopal explaining his choice of artists. The King of Bhangra meanwhile, launched into reminiscences of his early days in the music industry. “I started my career with Ambassador Hotel and now I am back here to release my album,” he said. On his part, Hariharan had his own take on the new venture with Mehndi. “It’s like paranthas with sambhar,” he quipped.

Cross-culture

Opera is an art form that is still to find a foothold in India. But the Neemrana Music Foundation is looking to change that by promoting it as a form that defies boundaries. And as part of its agenda, the Foundation presented an opera, The Pearl Fishers, in Delhi at the Siri Fort auditorium recently. Composed by George Bizet (the well-known French composer of Carmen) in 1863, the opera is set in the 19th century on an island between India and Sri Lanka. It is a fascinating love story involving a pearl diver, a hunter and a priestess.

There were Indian artistes, singers, musicians and dancers from Mumbai, Calcutta and Delhi performing at the opera supported by soloists and musicians from France. The Sadhya Ballet choreographed by Santosh Nair who also performed was also a big hit with the audience. The special showing did see some minor problems cropping up. For instance, the men’s costumes went missing five minutes before the performances could begin. “It happens all the time. The men will be undressed for some time,” jested French producer Francis Wacziarg.

The success of the Indo-French opera The Fakir of Benares in 2002 (Delhi) and 2003 (Mumbai) was the starting point for the decision to present The Pearl Fishers which had a Rs 2-crore budget. “The project has been sponsored partly by Neemrana Foundation,” said Wacziarg.

Remembering a friend

When the country’s leading painters come together to pay tribute to one of their colleagues, it is bound to draw the crowds. As it did when Mumbai’s Gallery Chemould presented an exhibition, Bhupen Among Friends, to mark Bhupen Khakhar’s second death anniversary. Big names like Amit Ambalal, Jogen Chowdhury, Anju and Atul Dodiya, Nalini Malani, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Madhvi and Manu Parekh, Gieve Patel, Sudhir Patwardhan, Gulam Mohammed and Nilima Sheikh, K G Subramanyan and Vivan Sundaram created works in tribute to the Baroda school painter, Khakhar. The works were displayed at The Museum Gallery while Gallery Chemould simultaneously held an exhibition of Khakhar’s drawings and sketches.

The evening began with a showing of Khakhar’s works at Gallery Chemould. A film by Khakhar’s friend Ein Lal, based on the latter’s interview with the painter, was also screened. The gathering then moved next door to The Museum Gallery, where Khakhar’s playwright-director friend Naushil Mehta’s The Messenger was performed by Manoj Shah. The performance drew quite a few laughs when Shah read out an imaginary letter by Khakhar recounting his experiences in heaven besides reading out the 30-second messages that his artist friends had sent him in heaven.

Around 47 works were on display including Atul Dodiya’s installation of 48 busts of Khakhar on three racks. Dodiya also did a full-size statue of Khakhar in the typical style of commemorative statues that you see on the road.

Most of the participating artists were present as were others like Jitesh and Reena Kallat, Sudarshan Shetty, Papri Bose and Shakuntala Kulkarni. Also seen were Dutch curator Johan Pijnappel,collectors like Thomas Cook India’s Ashwini Kakkar, gallery owner Aditya Ruia, and poet Prabodh Parekh.

Atul Dodiya (left) and Samir Mondal with the former’s installation at The Museum Gallery

Pottering away

As an art form, pottery usually tends to play second fiddle to painting in India. Gallery Art & Soul, however, brought together renowned potters and painters at a recent exhibition in Mumbai. Their works resulted from a ceramics workshop conducted by eminent ceramist Jacqueline Yu Fan Li, who works with Limoges porcelain and paper clay to make abstract vessels and sculpture. The works at the Mumbai exhibition highlighted the extensive interaction between the potters and painters.

The opening night also saw the release of renowned potter Nirmala Patwardhan’s book, The New Handbook of Potters. The book was released by Kekoo Gandhy of Gallery Chemould. Patwardhan, who was a student of Nandalal Bose at Shantiniketan when she was 16 before training as a potter in Germany and England, is known for her glaze research. In fact, the glaze found in almost any major pottery in India and in many parts of Britain is often attributed to her. She has transposed her experience in glazing and firing into formulae for potters in this book.

Apart from Fan Li and Patwardhan, some of the other artists whose works were exhibited included Bharti Kapadia, Jyotsna Bhatt, Santosh More, Zareen Mistry, Sandeep Manchekar, Kashinath Salve, Sheetal Gattani and Yashwant Deshmukh. Seen at the opening night were Dolly Thakore as well as artists like Papri Bose, Anjana Mehra and Samir Mondal apart from many of the participating artists.

Photographs by Rupinder Sharma, Prem Singh and Gajanan Dudhalkar