In the Earth, Sky and Silence, an exhibition of landscapes in oil by Atish Sengupta (Academy of Fine Arts), one is treated to the beauty of hilly terrains with winding mountain paths through an overgrowth of trees mirrorring themselves in a mystic blue lake. Sengupta, a retired surgeon, now spends time “amidst the green pastures, rivers and lakes” of the Blue Mountain region in Australia. His Rhapsody in Blue captures the mood of a water lily pond as a cloudy sky overshadows it. Such pastoral landscapes and lonely seasides are described with a sentimental intensity. He tries to capture a scenic beauty with a brush instead of a camera. However, Vibrant Life, Bow Bazar exposes his lack of drawing skill. Also, his small works become monotonous, like beautifully framed magnified greetings cards.
Sandip Sarkar
Srijoni presented a colourful evening at their annual show at Tapan Theatre on October 3. Young dancers of the institution in bright ghagras performed Hori with a spontaneous zeal. It was followed by Reminiscence, a mechanical and lifeless choreography by the older students. The main attraction of the evening was a solo Kathak recital by Souvik Chakraborty, a talented dancer from Padatik. Based on bilambit teental, Chakraborty reflected a strong sense of rhythm and power of presentation in his exposition of tihai, amad, tukra and other usual numbers of the Kathak repertoire. The 21 chakkars received great applause from the audience. Meghpaharer Galpa and Prakritir Khela were the other dance-dramas staged in the evening.
Sharmila Basu Thakur
Anyone can pick up a guitar or a brush now. An exhibition of drawings and paintings by Biplab Dalai at the Academy of Fine Arts has all the quality of good intentions and amateurishness ? the hallmarks of a self-taught painter. His works are done in transparent watercolours, but his hues are fauvist and rather raw. Introducing him in the invitation card for the show, Ramananda Bandyopadhyay speaks of Dalai’s depictions of rural scenes but what we see are urban situations titled Mahanagar. There are scenes depicting the rainy season and a street full of people with open umbrellas. Dalai hasn’t understood the difference between a photographer’s viewpoints and a painter’s visionary intents.
SS
