Nazrul, for now, may not command the same authority as he once did, but his legacy is secure. And one was reassured about the future of Nazrulgeeti at a birth anniversary concert (Madhusudan Mancha, May 25). Except for a few seniors like Kalyani Kazi and Suprakash Chaki, it was a platform that saw the youngsters regaling an audience thirsty for more. Sharmistha Sengupta’s commendable treatment of Qawali, Nabamita Dev’s polished delineation of a Mallar derivative, Maitreyi Nag’s lovely adaptation of galloping rhythm, Jhumpa Sarkar’s maturity in delivering romantic compositions and Subarna Chakraborty’s gorgeous rendition of Shyamkalyan-based Sedin chhila ki godhulilagan proved the point. The honour of the evening went to Manasi Sen. Her marvelous interpretation of Jena phire nahi jay displayed her talent in good measure.
Anshuman Bhowmick
On Kathakriti’s 16th foundation day, the Calcutta group invited its suburban colleagues Krantikal to stage their short play in Bengali titled Postmortem. Written and directed by Nabhendu Sen, it presented boarders at a rooming house when news of the Babri Masjid demolition breaks and, subsequently, rioting commences. Sen placed credibly conflicting opinions on the communal situation in the mouths of the inmates. When a stranger bangs at the door asking for help, some want to barricade themselves, while others suggest letting him in on humanitarian grounds. The acting left scope for improvement by way of naturalism, but Krantikal’s social conscience cannot be questioned.
Ananda Lal
If the success of a photography exhibition is judged by the humming presence of the photogenic chatterati, then Daisaku Ikeda’s ‘Dialogue With Nature’ was a thumping success. As one of his spoutings, used as captions, talked about “the depth and magnitude” in each one of us, there was plenty of both in the 104 frames put up at the Academy of Fine Arts. The depth of nature was captured marvellously, though largely impacted because of the magnitude of the frames, all huge. The pictures showed no evidence of Ikeda never using the viewfinder (“I use my heart to photograph”), so perfect in framing were they. That the President of the Soka Gakkai International is a poet laureate, Buddhist philosopher and peace proponent was also clear from his penchant for statements splashed in the gallery. You could have got confused about which was the exhibition.
Anil Grover
