Surpassing stereotypes Revealing a daring artistic imagination, the paintings of Sisir Sahana are full of innuendos and ironies that portray his vision of a complacent, paralyzed, decadent society. These Toys Are Not For Us, the ongoing exhibition of his works on canvas and glass, showcases images that are playful, transgressive and irreverent in nature. Without carrying the philosophical burden of the likes of Baudelaire and Walter Benjamin, he nonetheless succeeds in simultaneously treading the path of social comment and aesthetic merit. A central motif binding his new canvases together is the unlikely, insipid presence of the ubiquitous Barbie doll; plastic, rootless and almost alien to its environment. Set against this is the figure of an innocent, young girl, symbolising traditional Indian womanhood. Embodying the conflict between our failure to internalise modernity and our eagerness to make a fetish of tradition, they articulate a need to transcend the rigidity of stereotypes and move to a realm of rationality and moderation. Event: Works on canvas and glass by Sisir Sahana When: Till September 23 (except Sundays), 2 pm - 7 pm Where: Gallerie 88, 28B Shakespeare Sarani

art

Till September 7 at Academy of Fine Arts, West Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: A solo exhibition of paintings by Sambhu Chakraborty. Till September 7 at Bangladesh Gallery, 9 Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Sarani; 3 pm - 8 pm: Nagori, paintings by Kaushik Raha. Till September 8 at Gallery Nakshatra, 2/1 Outram Street, 2nd floor; 12 noon - 7 pm: Critical Imperatives — The Ethics of Identity, featuring works by 13 celebrated Indian painters. Till September 9 at Academy of Fine Arts, New South Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: Paintings by Gautam Basu and Probal Chandra Boral. Till September 9 at Gallery Sanskriti, 5C Alipore Park Road; 11 am - 8 pm: Vivrta, paintings and sculptures by eminent artists. Till September 9 at Gallerie 52D, 52D Hindustan Park: Traces, an exhibition of paintings and sculptures. Till September 10 at Chitrakoot Art Gallery, 55 Gariahat Road; 3 pm - 8 pm: Sojourn, the recent works of Arindam Chakraborty. Till September 10 at Proscenium’s Art Centre, 46 AJC Bose Road; 4 pm - 8 pm: Paintings by a group of talented young artists. Till September 12 at Gandhara Art Gallery, 1B Gurusaday Road, Flat 5A; 11 am - 7 pm: Angkor, art camp show. Works by Aditya Basak, Shipra Bhattacharjee, Samindranath Majumdar, Suvaprasanna, Chandra Bhattacharjee and others. Till September 15 at Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre, 36C S.P. Mukherjee Road; 2 pm - 8 pm: Paintings by Reba Hore.

drama

September 7 at Madhusudan Mancha; 6.30 pm: Natya Anan presents Continuity. Dir: Chandan Sen. September 7 at Girish Mancha; 6.30 pm: Natyaranga presents Chhotku. Dir: Swapan Sengupta. September 7 at Padatik Buildwell Theatre; 7.30 pm: Stagecraft presents two one-act sketches, A Little Dancing and The Curator’s Proposal. Also, Stops Along The Way (September 8). September 8 at Madhusudan Mancha; 7 pm: Rangakarmee presents Kashinama. Design and direction: Usha Ganguli. September 9 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.30 pm: Swapnasuchana presents Hemlat — The Prince of Garanhata. Drama, direction and acting: Bratya Basu. September 9 at Sarala Roy Memorial Hall; 6.30 pm: Total Theatre presents its latest production, Vyasa. Dir: Santanu Bandyopadhyay. September 9 & 10 at Proscenium’s Art Centre, 46 AJC Bose Road; 6.30 pm: Hindi play, Laxman Rekha. Dir: Ashok Churiwal. September 10 at Girish Mancha; 6.30 pm: Nandikar presents its latest productions, Lila Majumder’s Natun Chhele Natabar (dir: Goutam Halder), Ashapurna Devi’s Rater Kutum (dir: Swatilekha Sengupta) and Lila Majumder’s Pakhi (dir: Swatilekha Sengupta).

performing arts

September 7 at Rabindra Sadan; 6.30 pm: Indian Council for Cultural Relations, embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and department of information and cultural affairs, West Bengal, present Dance and Music from Vietnam, on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the national day of Vietnam. September 8 at Sujata Sadan; 6 pm: Kalabhrit presents Gaanmala, an evening of songs. Dir: Anushila Basu. September 9 at Aikatan, EZCC, Salt Lake; 6 pm: Shree Nandana presents a cultural programme featuring Barshar Gaan by Dr Sujit Chakraborty and Jayati Chakraborty, Tagore’s Shravangatha Pala (dir: Dr Sujit Chakraborty) and audio-play by Jagannath Basu and Urmimala Basu. September 9 at G.D. Birla Sabhagar; 6.30 pm: Consulate-General of Japan, Calcutta, Japan Foundation and The Calcutta School of Music present Japanese Traditional Music Today, featuring Ai Kajigano (koto), Hiromu Motonaga (shakuhachi), Naoyuki Manabe (sho) and Mita Nag (sitar).

talk

September 7 at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Shivananda Hall; 6 pm: Swami Sarvabhutananda will speak in Hindi on Sri Sri Narada Pancharatram.

book launch

September 7 at Crossword, 8 Elgin Road; 6.45 pm: Crossword and Kolkata Police present the launch of the revised edition of Evolution of Kolkata Police.

exhibition

September 7 - September 20 at Sravasti, 14/97 Golf Club Road; 12 noon - 8 pm: KeyaChaitali’s collection of kurtas, salwar sets, saradins, embroidered, batik and block-printed sarees, blouse-pieces and costume jewellery. Till September 7 at 114/L Selimpur Road; 4 pm - 8 pm: An exhibition of designer sarees. Till September 8 at Gallery 79, 79 Raja Basanta Roy Road; 3 pm - 8 pm: Nimble Fingers presents Agomoni, traditional crafts of Bengal. Featuring hand-painted t-shirts and kurtas, batik printed sarees, designer salwar suits and jewellery made with semi-precious stones, dokra and terracotta. Till September 9 at Artisana, 13 Chowringhee Terrace, 1st floor; 10 am - 7.30 pm: Crafts Council of West Bengal presents Pooja — traditional weavers, printers, dyers and embroiderers of different states and their collection of textiles. Till September 14 at 57/9 Ballygunge Circular Road; 10.30 am - 8.30 pm: Soumya’s Creation presents Pujo Special, a new range of saris and costume jewellery. Till September 15 at Sampa’s Boutique, 42 Circus Avenue: Sampa Das hosts an exhibition of Assam silk saris and mekhala chaddars along with dokra artifacts.

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

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