June tours the exhibition organised to aid acid attack survivors. Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray

The ninth edition of the Invited Photography Exhibition is on at Nandan till August 25. It was inaugurated by choreographer Alokananda Roy, cinematographer Soumendu Roy and Arijit Dutta of Priya Entertainments on August 19, which is World Photography Day.

On display are 128 photographs clicked by members of the National Academy of Photography (NAP) along with a number of international participants from Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and elsewhere.

The exhibition commemorating the 174th World Photography Day is being organised by NAP and Persona-International.

“Each frame is a piece of art here. Not always do we get to see so many beautiful photographs together,” said Alokananda Roy at the inauguration. For Arijit Dutta, himself is an avid nature and wildlife photographer, the exhibition offered a visual treat for city shutterbugs.

“The main problem with photography today is the digitised format and the ease of technology, which often leads to its misuse. A good photographer must have basic knowledge, just like a poet must know the language well to craft good poetry and give vent to creativity,” said award-winning photographer and artiste Madhu Sarkar, the founder-director of NAP. The exhibition is on from 2pm to 8pm.

Dancer Alokananda Roy takes a look at the photography exhibition at Nandan. Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray

Against acid attacks

Thirty-six-year-old Rita Pal cannot talk after her husband and mother-in-law forced acid down her throat on September 17, 2000. She survived the attack but the scars remain. The culprits served a sentence less than half the mandatory 10 years and are now free. To help victims like Rita, NGO Acid Survivors Foundation India (ASFI) organised an exhibition, Art With A Heart, at 18 Ballygunge Circular Road on Friday. The exhibition was inaugurated by Chandrima Bhattacharya, the minister for law and judicial services and health and public welfare. Thirteen artists like Wasim Kapoor, Shuvra Chakraborty, Aditya Basak, Bappa Haldar and others participated in the initiative. Guests at the event included actress June, MLA Smita Bakshi, Bidhannagar municipality chairperson Krishna Chakraborty and French consul-general Fabrice Etienne. The chairman of ASFI, H.P. Kanoria, pointed out that 80 per cent of acid attack victims were women and Bengal saw around 10 cases a year.

Bhattacharya stressed on the need for awareness. “Acid attack offenders should get 10 years’ imprisonment. The term can also be extended. There are now stringent laws against such crimes. But they need to be enforced properly. Judicial officers should not grant bail in such cases so easily,” she said.

She added that the state government was planning to open more burn wards in hospitals. She handed over cash and a sewing machine each to two victims. The event also saw Rita Bhimani auction some paintings for the cause.

Rabindrasangeet exponent Sraboni Sen and Odissi dancer Dona Ganguly released an album Tabo Geet-O Sur by Indrani Banerjee, a senior commercial manager of South Eastern Railway, at the Press Club recently

50 days of art

Chemould Art Gallery, in association with Prayas and TTIS, is holding a 50-day painting exhibition at Town Hall, starting on July 17. The event was attended by Swami Suparnananda Ji Maharaj, secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, actor Soumitra Chatterjee and the administrative officer of Victoria Memorial Hall, Shakil Ahmed.

The exhibition will be held in 10 phases and will showcase works of both young and experienced artists. Artists Rabin Mondal, Ganesh Haloi, Prakash Karmakar and Suhas Roy were felicitated during the inauguration.

(Contributed by Sreyoshi Dey, Chandreyee Ghose and Showli Chakraborty )