• Jean Renoir, born today, was the son of the renowned Impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Jean has to his credit, as an actor and director, around 40 films in the course of his creative life. He received international recognition for his work, including France's Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur. His cinema influenced the likes of Luchino Visconti, François Truffaut and Satyajit Ray, whom Renoir met in Calcutta during his visit to India for filming The River. Renoir, much like Ray, had an eye for fleshing out characters. Their work has also been labelled as humanist, owing to the overarching social messages of the films. But it would be unfair to limit Renoir's cinema within specific boundaries.

• Svikriti - the exhibition will continue till September 30 - is Birla Academy of Art & Culture's way of recognizing new talent. There were over 400 participants this year from all over the country and the creations of 167 artists have been selected for the show. Like every other year, Svikriti, an important event in Calcutta's art calendar, continues to be a celebration of diverse ideas in form and technique.