Futile yearning for old times Based on a story by Taslima Nasreen, Aitijhya Natyapeeth?s production, Phera, makes a strong statement against communalism, offering compassion and understanding as the answer to communal forces. With a soul-stirring tale evoking sympathy in the minds of the audience, the play brings to light the loss of values, ideals and morals in modern life, that are responsible for the corruption and disintegration of society. It unfolds the unhappy circumstances befalling Kalyani, the protagonist, who had tried to escape the troubles of her present by returning to the days of her past. Hurt and humiliated, she is compelled to accept the truth of her present position in life. She realizes, perhaps a little too late, that though pleasant memories of her past can provide her solace from the harsh realities of the present, she has no choice but to encounter immediate challenges. A virtual stranger, Badal, finally helps her find her life?s direction. Directed by Himangshu Das. The staging of Phera will be followed by Taslima Nasreen?s commentary on the story, along with a session in which she reads out her own poems. Event: Play in Bengali, Phera, produced by Aitijhya Natyapeeth; poetry-reading by Taslima Nasreen When: Today at 6.30 pm Where: Madhusudan Mancha

art

Till January 16 at Academy of Fine Arts; 3 pm - 8 pm: Creativity and Concern for Humanity, an exhibition of paintings, drawings and sculptures by the members of Forum 91. Till January 16 at Chitrakoot Art Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: Hidden Gems of Bengal Art (from private collections). Till January 17 at New Sabhaghar, Swabhumi; 2 pm - 8 pm: Vikalp Art Shop presents Ghare Baire, a solo exhibition by German artist Dagmar Dasgupta. Till January 18 at Chemould Art Gallery, 12F Park Street; 12 noon - 7 pm: Portrait of Kolkata by Dilip Chaudhury. Till January 20 at Standard Chartered, 21A Shakespeare Sarani; 11 am - 7 pm: Small is Beautiful ? paintings on leather and vellum by Anirban Seth. Till January 28 at Artists Circle, 46 Circus Avenue: Lines Unbound, a solo exhibition of Prakash Karmakar?s work. Till January 30 (except Sundays and national holidays) at Gallery Kanishka?s; 11 am - 8 pm: Forms & Figures, an exhibition of the works of Ashoke Mullick, Debabrata Chakrabarti, Dipti Chakrabarti, Kartick Chandra Pyne, K. Muralidharan, Prokash Karmakar, Partha Bhattacharjee, Piu Sarkar, Ramananda Bandyopadhyay, Subroto Gangopadhyay, Samir Aich, Sanatan Dinda, Sekhar Roy, Sekhar Kar, S. Pranam Singh and Subhamita Bhattacharjee Dinda. Till January 31 at Arts & Ideas Designshop, UZ 213 Swabhumi; 12 noon - 8.30 pm: Arts & Ideas presents Down to Earth, an exhibition of Bengali pottery. Participants: Arun Mukhoty, Gourab Malakar, Manik Das, Manoj Kumar Das, Mousumi Roy, Payel Sarkar, Partha Dasgupta, Soumen Basu and Tanmoy Das. Till January 31 at Idiyas Gallery, 15 Dover Road; 10.30 am - 7.30 pm: The Pageant of Life ? an exhibition of Indian art and sculpture by renowned artists. Till February 4 (except Sunday) at CIMA Gallery; 3 pm - 7 pm (Monday), 2 pm - 7 pm (Tuesday to Saturdays): An Enchanted Space - the private worls of Ganesh Pyne. Till February 14 at Space Circle, VIP Road: An exhibition of Saniya Sharma?s abstract art featuring oils, water colours, India ink, acrylic and mixed media on canvas and paper. January 16 - 22 at 23 Samokal Art Gallery, 23 Gariahat Road, Gol Park; 2 pm - 8 pm: A Tribute to Picasso, a selection of 60 prints of his drawings, paintings and sculptures. To mark the 125th birth anniversary of Pablo Picasso. Inauguration this evening at 5. January 16 - 25 at 1B Gurusaday Road, Palm Spring, Flat 5A: Gandhara Art Gallery presents a solo exhibition of paintings by Chandrima Bhattacharyya. Inauguration today at 5 pm

DRAMA

January 16 at Academy of Fine Arts & January 17 at Rabindra Sadan; 6.30 pm: Rangakarmee celebrates 30th year of Rangayatra with Tagore?s classic, Visarjan. Hindi adaptation: Usha Ganguli. Direction: Habib Tanvir. Presented in collaboration with Naya Theatre, Bhopal. January 16 at Sisir Mancha; 6.30 pm: Kolkata Suchetana presents Aatarkathi. Drama & direction: Onkar Ghosh. January 17 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.30 pm: Chetana presents Nirnoy. Direction: Arun Mukhopadhyay. January 17 at Mukta Angan; 6.30 pm: Choopkatha presents Mrs. Soriano. Direction: Dolly Basu. January 18 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.30 pm: Page 4, Lok-krishti?s latest production. Drama, direction & acting: Bratya Basu. January 19 at Madhusudan Mancha; 6.30 pm: Charbak presents Chalo Patol Tuli. Drama, music & direction: Arindam Ganguly. January 19 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.30 pm: Mukhomukhi presents Aarohan. Drama, direction & acting: Soumitra Chattopadhyay. January 20 at Bani-Niketan, Howrah; 6.30 pm: Choopkatha will stage Dui-Taranga. Direction: Dolly Basu.

PERFORMING ARTS

January 16 at Rabindra Sadan; 5.45 pm: In aid of challenged children, Agantuk and Anubhav present Kolkata Tumi Ekhon Kaar..., featuring story-telling through poetry by Lipika Majumdar and Bangla band Agantuk.

EXHIBITIon

January 17 at Birla Industrial & Technological Museum, 19A Gurusaday Road; 3 pm: Inauguration of the 31st Eastern India Science Fair and Engineering Fair 2006, The fair will be held till January 21 between 10 am and 5 pm. Till January 17 at Sen Bati, 3 Mandeville Gardens; 12 noon - 8 pm: Garvi/ Gurjari Calcutta hosts an exhibition-cum-sale along with live demonstration by renowned artisans from Gujarat.

TALK

January 16 at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Shivananda Hall; 5.30 pm: Swami Rasajnananda will speak in English on Life and Teachings of Holy Mother Sri Sri Sarada Devi. January 16 at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Vivekananda Hall; 6.15 pm: Swami Puranananda will speak in Bengali on Adhyatma Ramayana. January 16 at Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 19A & B Raja Rajkrishna Street; 7 pm: Prof. Jagat Jiban Ghosh will speak in Bengali on Samaj O Vijnan.

REUNION

January 21 at Modern High School for Girls; 2 pm - 4.30 pm: Modern High School Ex-students? reunion Back to School. Cards at reception (9.30 am - 4 pm).

WORKSHOP

January 23 at 167-A Sarat Bose Road: Workshop on communication skills and parenting and discipline. Registration by January 20. For details, contact Mitali Sen Gupta, #9831883226. Till January 17 at Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre; 11 am - 6 pm: Black Box, a workshop combining creativity, art and education in innovative ways. Till January 21 at Padatik, #22476087, 22813189; 4 pm onwards: Workshop on Thang-Ta (martial art of Manipur) conducted by Sri Birjit.

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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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