Magic of Odissi Indian classical dance is commonly considered an exotic, exclusive and illusive art form, with very little connection to real life. It is perhaps this idea that attracts some and makes others stay away from it. Performances of classical dance also give the impression of a distance between the artiste and the audience; a distance that is enhanced by complex techniques, layers of costume and make-up. What is usually not projected on stage are the many facades of dance and the numerous creative inputs that transform a concept into a performance. More importantly, what remains unexpressed in the creative process is the individual vision of dancers, who dance for the sheer joy of it and for whom it is a way of life. Living With Odissi explores this creative process. It invites the audience to get involved and experience the magical powers of Odissi. This evening, Sharmila Biswas, Oindrilla Dutt and the Repertory Dancers of Odissi Vision and Movement Centre share with the audience the sacred domain within which they experience and celebrate dance. Items to be performed include Nava Pallavi, Images of OVM and Abartan Bibartan. Participants: Ayona Bhaduri, Shashwati Garai Ghosh, Neelay Sengupta and others. Also, release of the book, Knowing Odissi. Event: Odissi dance performance by Odissi Vision and Movement Centre When: Today at 6.45 pm Where: Gyan Manch

art

Till October 4 at Chemould Art Gallery, 12F Park Street, #2229 8641; 2 pm - 7 pm: Pyramid presents the fifth solo exhibition of metal collage by Dr Arun Kumar Majumder. Till October 4 at Bose Pacia, Stephens Court, 18 Park Street; 11 am - 7 pm: Alone in the Crowd — an exhibition of paintings, installations and prints by Josh P.S. Till October 4 at Creative Ritu, 3/2A Chandranath Chatterjee Street, Bhowanipore; 4 pm - 8 pm: Academy of Creative Art presents Himalayan Experience in Watercolour by Anil Kumar Dutta. Till October 4 at Galerie Karma, P-505 Keyatola Road; 11 am - 7 pm: Celebrating Life, a solo exhibition of paintings by Pintu Biswas. Till October 5 at Academy of Fine Arts, Gallery New South - B; 3 pm - 8 pm: An exhibition of paintings by Anjan Das, Binit Sinha, Pradip Chanda and Subrata Barik. Till October 5 at Gallery Sunayan, P-271, B Block, Lake Town; 3 pm - 8 pm: An exhibition of paintings and sculptures by yesteryear’s masters: Basanta Kumar Ganguly, Gopal Ghosh, Sunil Kumar Pal, Dhirendra Nath Brahma, Ranenayan Dutta, Ramananda Bandyopadhyay and Krishna Bandyopadhyay. Till October 7 at Gallery 79, 79 Raja Basanta Roy Road, 1st floor; 4 pm - 7 pm: A solo exhibition of collage by Indrani Sen. Till October 12 (except Saturdays) at Galerie La Mere, 3 Regent Park, #2471 2612; 4 pm - 8 pm: Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture presents Durga 2008, an exhibition of paintings and drawings. Till October 15 (except Sundays) at Aakriti Art Gallery, 1st floor, Orbit Enclave, 12/3A Hungerford Street, #2289 3027; 12 noon - 7 pm: GenNext III, the annual show of Aakriti Art Gallery featuring works by contemporary artists below 40 years of age, including foreign participants from different continents. Till October 31 at Gallery K2, Supra Court, 35 Lansdowne Terrace, #2465 1444; 11 am - 7 pm: Contemporary Art on Display — works by Partho Pratim Deb, Paresh Maity, S. Pranam Singh, Subrata Gangopadhyay, Shilajit Ghosh, Nabendu Roy, Sudipto Karmakar, Saumya Kanti Mukhopadhyay and others. Till October 31 (except Sundays) at Ganges Art Gallery, 33A Jatin Das Road, #2465 3212; 11 am - 7 pm: Art Fair 2008 — a collection of affordable art. Featuring works by Manoj Dutta, Munindra Rajbongshi, Chandana Hore, Parag Adhikari, Anup Giri and Madhuri Jalan. Till November 10 (except Sundays) at Tejas Gallery, 11 Mayfair Road, #4007 6042; 1 pm - 7.30 pm: Devi-II — Twenty-five artists’ impressions of Goddess Durga.

DRAMA

October 4 at Academy of Fine Arts; 3 pm: Sanglap Kolkata presents Aabartan. Drama & : Kuntal Mukhopadhyay. October 4 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.30 pm: New Theatres Group will stage its latest two one-act plays, Light House and Punnabaner Bojha. October 4 at Girish Mancha; 6.30 pm: Durgadas Smriti Sangha presents Manansoi Khelaghar. Drama: Ramaprasad Banik. Direction: Teerthankar Chattopadhyay. October 4 at Sisir Mancha; 6.30 pm: Dum Dum Shabdamugdha Natya Kendra presents Sparshokator. Direction: Rakesh Ghosh. October 4 at Sujata Sadan; 7 pm: Swapsasandhani presents Haragaj. Direction & acting: Koushik Sen. October 5 at Academy of Fine Arts; 3 pm: Arghya presents Bharat Katha. Concept: Manish Mitra. October 5 at Madhusudan Mancha; 6.30 pm: Howrah Dakshinayan presents Hawa Badal. Direction: Kunal Mukhopadhyay. October 5 at Girish Mancha; 6.30 pm: Taki Natyam will stage Good Morning Nishikanto. Drama & direction: Ramaprasad Banik.

DRAMA FESTIVAL

October 4 at Sodpur Lok Sanskriti Bhavan; 11 am: The concluding day of Sukhachar Pancham’s 4th annual inter-school drama festival. Participating schools: Sodpur Chandrachur Boys, Belghoria Mahakali Girls, Sodpur Deshbandhu Boys, Ushumpur Adarsha Girls, Agarpara Mahajati Vidyapith, Sodpur Sushilkrishna Girls, Sodpur High School, Rahara Bhavnath, Ushumpur Adarsha Boys and Panihati Balika Vidyalaya. Concept & direction: Malay Mitra.

PERFORMING ARTS

October 4 at Gyan Manch; 6.45 pm: Living with Odissi: Sharmila Biswas, Oindrilla Dutt and the repertory dancers of OVM share with the audience the sacred domain within which they experience and celebrate dance. Also, release of the book, Knowing Odissi.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Till October 5 at Genesis Art Gallery, 8A Middleton Street, #2229 3886/2837; 12 noon - 7 pm: Shakti: Women of India — the debut exhibition in city by UK-based photographer Jenny Borgerhoff Mulder, who has done a series on Indian women.

COLLOQUIUM

October 4 at The ITC Sonar Calcutta; 12 noon onwards: TV Southasia organises a colloquium on religion, media and meditation with eminent media personalities from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan. Speakers include Siddharth Kak, Neena Gupta, Javed Naqvi and Surendra Nihal Singh. To be co-ordinated by Rubana Haq.

BOOK RELEASE

October 4 at Abanindra Sabhagriha, Charukala Bhavan, 1/1 AJC Bose Road; 5 pm: Selected stories from Chandi Mangal in two volumes will be formally released by Alok Roy. Also a discussion to be participated by Pabitra Mukhopadhyay, Shubhankar Ghosh, Amar Mitra, Jahar Sen Majumdar and Prabhat Choudhury. Organised by Kabita Pakshik.

FESTIVAL

Till October 9 at Sankara Hall, 93 Southern Avenue, #2466 1767: Sri Sarada Navarathri Celebrations 2008, organised by Sankara Hall and Sankara Institute of Philosophy & Culture. Today (Alankaram Lalitha Mahatripura Sundari): Pooja, Archana at 7 am; Recitation of Devi Mahatmyam by Ladies Group at 10 am; Lalitha Sahasranama Archana, Recitation of Slokas at 6 pm; and Sangeetha Seva featuring Deekshitar Padiya Tiruthalam - Tiruvaroor by the students of Sri Guru Guha Gana Vidyalaya at 6.45 pm. Tomorrow (Alankaram Kaumari): Suryanamaskaram at 6 am; Pooja, Archana at 8 am; Devi Mahatmyam Parayanam: Sree Lalitha Homam, Lalitha Sahasranama Archana, Recitation of Slokas at 6 pm; and Sangeetha Seva featuring Tiruppugazh Bhajan by Tiruppugazh Anbargal at 6.45 pm.

READING

October 5 at G.D. Birla Sabhagar; 11 am: Professor P. Lal reads Sanjaya's report of Krishna advising Yudhisthira to give priority to the killing of Salya, and the fierce clash between Bhima and Salya, in the 442nd weekly session of his sloka-by-sloka English transcreation of Vyasa's Mahabharata.

EXHIBITION

Till October 5 at CIMA Gallery; 11 am - 8 pm: Art in Life 2008. Till October 6 at Darbari showrooms, P-249 Purna Das Road (#24644027, 24658537) & CB 68 Salt Lake Sector I (#40043486): A Milestone, as part of its 10th anniversary celebration, Darbari presents a collection of designer sarees, fabrics, tunics, skirts and accessories. Till October 6 at the emporium of Central Cottage Industries Corporation of India Ltd, 7 Jawaharlal Nehru Road; 10 am - 7 pm: An exhibition of sarees and ready-to-wear clothes. Till October 6 at 108 Raja Basanta Roy Road, #2466 4315: Design’s Puja exhibition of classical sarees.All those who wish events to be included in this column should write not less than a week ahead to: Time out, The Telegraph, 6, Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta-700 001; Fax: 2234-8244

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All those who wish events to be included in this column should write not less than a week ahead to:

Time out, The Telegraph, 6, Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta-700 001;
Fax: 2234-8244