Forum 91, Calcutta organised an exhibition titled Creativity and Concern for Humanity at Academy of Fine Arts recently. On display was a host of sculptures, paintings and home d?cor artefacts crafted by both eminent and up-and-coming artists. The Academy’s central hall played host to some exquisite but minor landscapes by Gopal Ghosh and Satyendra Banerjee’s sensitive Oriental miniature art. Senior artists like Shyamashree Basu and Dhiraj Choudhury exhibited some of their latest paintings. The semi-abstract landscape of Anita Roychoudhury matched well with Katyun Saklat’s Persian religious icons. Sukumar Ghosh’s wood carvings and Tarak Garai’s metal sculptures added an extra dimension to the splendid show.
Sandip Sarkar
Makrand Deshpande’s play Ek Kadam Aage, staged as a part of the Odeon festival (held from June 24 to July 2), proved to be a rare treat. Like most of his productions, the play is closer to dreams. The Dream Man, Makrand, walked the line between fantasy and reality with such ease that it kept the audience enthralled till the end. The play revolved around Anil Yadav, a struggling actor from Haryana. Amit Mistry played the simple, down-to-earth singer from Gujarat. Both Makrand and Amit gave fine performances. In bit roles, D. Santosh playing the autistic STD booth employee and Nivedita Bhattacharya, the lady luck, were really good. Makrand displayed a spontaneous urge of storytelling. The interaction with the audience seemed to be a bit forced though.
Madhuparna Das
Young elocutionists stole a march on their seasoned compatriots at Adwitiya Sandhya hosted by Abritti Parishad at Rabindra Sadan on June 8. Ishita Das Adhikari came up with some surprising choices. For instance, Buddhadeva Bose’s Jonaki was articulated in tripping rhythm without compromising its pensive aura. A stimulating approach to a Bimal Chandra Ghosh conversational poem (Tarpar tarpar) bore testimony to the coming of age of Antara Das. Rosy Ghosh had a softer diction which was apt for the emotional outburst in Subodh Sarkar’s Sita. Bratati Bandopadhyay gave a blink-and-miss performance of Tagore poems. Lopamudra Mitra and Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta regaled the audience with Rabindrasangeet recitals.
Anshuman Bhowmick
