Abstractions and configurations Surya Prakash occupies a unique position in the realm of Indian art. Surya Prakash: A Retrospective Exhibition sho-ws perfectly how the artist strikes the right note thr-o-ugh a flawless symbiosis between form and content. His art projects an imagined experience, rather than annotations of the temporal world. Meditative and classical, his art also reflects a contemporary flavour, a distinctive fusion that encompasses many of the trials and tribulations of our modern era, although in a measured accent. Apart from being a consummate painter with a distinctive visual diction, Surya Prakash has also been instrumental in shaping the art milieu of Hyderabad. This dual facet forms the axis of Abstract Reality: The Art of Surya Prakash written by Shiladitya Sarkar, which was released yesterday. Threading the different phases of his art chronologically, it highlights the artist’s abstracted vision. It is interposed with anecdotes and analytical insights, and portrays the persona of a reticent artist, whose paintings and exemplary social role continue to inspire art lovers across generations. Event: A retrospective exhibition of paintings by Surya Prakash When: January 7 - 16 (except Sunday); 11 am - 8 pm Where: Gallery Sanskriti, 5C Alipore Park Road

ART

Till January 9 at CIMA Gallery; 3 pm - 7 pm (Monday) & 2 pm - 7 pm (Tuesday to Saturday): In Search of a Context, an exhibition about the relation of art to its setting of time, place, social and historical moorings. Artworks include paintings, sculptures, drawings, collage, films and video. Featuring works of Manas Acharya, Samir Aich, Rashmi Bagchi Sarkar, Sumitro Basak, Rameshwar Broota, Shreyasi Chatterjee, Swarna Chitrakar, Jogen Chowdhury, Sougata Das, Partha Pratim Deb, Meera Devidayal, Early Bengal School, Anita Gopal, Subodh Gupta, Anup Mondal, Binode Behari Mukherjee, Ravinder G. Reddy, Satyajit Roy, Kingshuk Sarkar, Shakila, Shuvaprasanna, Mayank Kumar Shyam, Arpita Singh, J. Swaminathan, Rabindranath Tagore, Manish Waghdare, Ancient South Indian Sculpture, and Cinematic Installation by Rituparno Ghosh and Mainak Bhaumik. January 7 - 17 (except Sunday) at Gallery Exposure, 54B Mahanirban Road; 3 pm - 8 pm: Intimacy — the fifth solo exhibition of drawings and paintings by Sumana Ghosh. January 7 - 18 (except Saturday) at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture, 3 Regent Park; 4 pm - 8 pm: Le Mere Annual 2010, a group show of drawings and paintings. Till January 10 at Eye on Art, 3 Pretoria Street; 1 pm - 7 pm: Paintings by Apurba Choudhury, Augustine Mullick, Shuvankar Maitra, Sukhendu Paul and Tapan Mitra. Till January 10 at Art Walk, South City Mall; 12 noon - 8 pm: Paintings by Swapan Kumar Saha and Somnath Adhikary. Till January 11 (except Tuesday) at The Halo Heritage Art Gallery, 26 Ritchie Road; 3 pm - 8 pm: Colours — an exhibition of paintings by B.R. Panesar, Anita Roychowdhury, Prabir Sen, Krishnendu Chaki, Manas Roy, Dripta Roy, Shomi Banerjee, Malay Das, Subhendu Sarkar and Shubhabrata Nandi. Till January 16 (except Sunday) at 2/1 Hindusthan Road; 11.30 am - 7.30 pm: Experimenter presents Freedom is Notional — works of three of South Asia’s leading artists Shilpa Gupta (India), Bani Abidi (Pakistan) and Naeem Mohaiemen (Bangladesh). Till January 17 at Bodhi Tree Monastery of Art, 48/44 Swiss Park, #2424 6534; 2 pm - 7 pm: A solo show of Arnab Basu’s works. Till January 31 (except Mondays) at Victorial Memorial Hall; 10 am - 5 pm: Indian Life and Landscape by Western Artists: Paintings and Drawings from the V&A, 1790-1927, hosted by The Victoria Memorial Hall and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Till January 31 (except Mondays) at Shree Art Gallery, 11 Gurusaday Road, Kusum Apartment, Flat no. 61, #30222040; 3 pm - 7 pm: Christmas Hues, an exhibition of the works of Ajita Sengupta, Soumitra Kar, Pramothesh Chandra, Dhiren Sasmal, B.R. Panesar, Deben Laha, Stuti Laha, Sambhu Saha, Subrata Das, Sukanta Das, Samir Paul, Prasun Mollick, Milanendu Mondal, Moloy Chandan Saha, Ashok Ganguly, Sarbani Ganguly, Subrata Sen, Ranjan Sarkar, Suman Dey, Ashis Mondal, Jibon Biswas, Karunamoy Sur, M.H. Mollah, Kakoli Mishra, Ranadip Das, Paresh Saha, Swapan Palley, Bappa Halder and Ashimava Dutta. Till January 31 (except Mondays) at Ahuja Museum for Arts, 26 Lee Road, #40034974, 22894745; 11:30 am – 7:30 pm: An exhibition of Happy Paintings (a blend of French, Cambodian and Canadian art) by Stephane Delapree.

DRAMA

January 7 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.30 pm: Nandikar will stage Ajnatobass, directed by Sumanta Gangopadhyay. Directorial advisor: Rudraprasad Sengupta. January 7 at Madhusudan Mancha; 6.30 pm: Spandan IPTA presents Anticlock, written and directed by Sangram Guha. January 7 at Sisir Mancha; 6.45 pm: Durgadas Smrity Sangha presents Khelaghar, a play by Ramaprasad Banik and directed by Tirthankar Chattopadhyay.

PERFORMING ARTS

January 7 at Rabindra Okakura Bhavan, Salt Lake; 6 pm: Salt Lake Eye Foundation’s 15th anniversary programme, Ogo Panchadashi. Participants: Shraboni Sen, Barnali Sarkar, Jagannath Basu and Urmimala Basu. January 7 at Satish Smriti Pathagar, Rajarhat; 6 pm: In collaboration with EZCC, Rajarhat Social Welfare Centre hosts the presentation of folk dances of Kashmir by Kashmir Tourism & Travels. January 7 - 11 at Rabindra Sadan: West Bengal State Music Academy, in association with EZCC, presents a five-day classical music conference. Today at 5.30 pm: Anu Barman (dhrupad) with Apurbalal Manna (pakhawaj) and Rupashree Bhattacharya (harmonium); Kartick Kumar (sitar) with Ananda Gopal Bandyopadhyay (tabla); and Ulhas Kashalkar (vocal) with Samar Saha (tabla) and Jyoti Goho (harmonium).

POETRY FESTIVAL

January 7 at Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi Sabhaghar; 5 pm: The concluding evening of the 8th Kabita Utsav, hosted by Souhardya 70, features poetry-reading by Sharatkumar Mukhopadhyay, Pranabkumar Mukhopadhyay, Mrinal Basu Chowdhury, Pankaj Saha, Krishna Basu, Dipak Lahiri, Namita Choudhury and others along with invited poets Kamal Chakraborty (Jharkhand), Prabir Roy (Jalpaiguri) and Amar Chakraborty (Cooch Behar). Also, bhajans by Diotima Chowdhury and a discussion on French poetry by Prof. Chinmoy Guha.

EXHIBITION

January 7 & 8 at Nari Seva Sangha, Jodhpur Park; 11 am - 7 pm: Kolkata Boutique Mela presents an exhibition of designer sarees, jewellery, bedcovers and other items. Till January 7 at 108 Raja Basanta Roy Road; 11 am - 7.30 pm: Printed silk, tussar and South Indian sarees at Paramita Viswanthan’s Design. Till January 7 at Design, 108 Raja Basanta Roy Road; 11.30 am - 8 pm: Soumya’s Creation presents an exhibition of its new range of evening bags and costume jewellery. Till January 8 at 16/2 Gariahat Road, #98300 54718; 11 am - 8.30 pm: Joyita’s Selection presents a designer boutique festival with all types of designer wear. Till January 11 at Halo Heritage, 26 Ritchie Road; 11.30 am - 8 pm: Soumya’s Creation presents an exhibition of its new range of durries and home accessories. Till January 15 (except Sunday) at 5/1 Anil Moitra Road, Ballygunge Place; 9.30 am - 6.30 pm: Weavers Studio presents a wide variety of winter delights in tussars — saris, fabrics, set and more. Till January 20 (except Sundays) at Tejas Gallery, 11 Mayfair Road, #22800478; 10.30 am - 7.30 pm: Proflowers Boutique showcases kurtis, beaded tops, bedcovers, silk purses, shawls, dupattas, painted sneakers, terracotta lamps, masks, wall hangings and other lifestyle products.

TALK

January 7 at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Shivananda Hall; 6 pm: Swami Atmapriyananda will speak in English on Kena Upanishad.

PHOTO EXHIBITION

Till January 13 (except Sunday) at Weavers Studio Centre for the Arts, 94 Ballygunge Place, #2461 3145; 10 am - 7 pm: Return to Eden — an exhibition of photography by Prabir Purkayastha. Curated by Ina Puri. January 7 - 13 at Academy of Fine Arts, North Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: Vista presents Ways of Seeing — a group exhibition of photographs taken by Indranil Das, Suman Chatterjee, Ahindra Choudhury and Partha Sengupta.

DISCOURSE

Till January 10 at G.D. Birla Sabhagar; 6.30 pm - 8 pm: Discourses in English, Bhagavad Gita - Chapter X: The Yoga of Supreme Manifestation, by Sunandaji.

FESTIVAL

Till January 10 at Nalban Ecopark, Salt Lake; 12 noon - 9 pm: West Bengal Tourism and Food Festival 2010. Today (Karnataka Day): Cultural programme from Karnatak. Also, eight stalls of authentic Chinese cuisine by chefs from China along with other delicacies of Calcutta.

WORKSHOP

January 7 - 10 at Modern Mime Centre, 47 Commint Park, Bagha Jatin; 8 am - 12 noon: A three-day mime workshop to be conducted by Kamal Naskar. Details at 24327144. January 8 at Jain House, 8/1 Esplanade East; 4 pm - 5.30 pm: A chocolate-making class for children (8 yrs to 15 yrs). For registration, contact Suman (9830019635).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