Crafted with metal and clay Set up with an aim to revive traditional crafts of Bengal and give them a new identity, Mrittika Foundation has been a cradle to Bengal’s folk arts and crafts since its inception in February 2006. Inside its sprawling campus, potters craft innovative pots at the wheel, while dokra artists give shape to human figures. Weavers on looms translate designs into yardages, while kaantha artists produce intricate embroidery. Once complete, these handicrafts, intrinsic to the soul of rural Bengal, occupy pride of place in the world of fashion and lifestyle. Besides its mission to generate awareness about traditional arts and crafts of West Bengal in their contemporised and stylised form, Mrittika also offers rural artisans a platform to showcase their creativity. Expressions in Dokra and Terracotta, the ongoing exhibition of dokra and terracotta items, is a celebration of the true potential and versatility of these age-old crafts. It also reinstates traditional artisans to their rightful status as artists. According to Malini Mondal of Mrittika Foundation, “These works of art can be adapted to newer manifestations at any time and age, and be accepted as part of the world and socio-cultural scenario.” Event: An exhibition of dokra and terracotta works When: Till December 21; 11 am - 7 pm Where: Rabindranath Tagore Cultural Centre, 9A Ho Chi Minh Sarani

art

Till January 24 (except Sundays & holidays) at CIMA Gallery; 3 pm - 7 pm (Mondays) 2 pm - 7 pm (Tuesdays to Saturdays): Review, an exhibition of artworks that aspires to redefine our perception and understanding of art of the 20th century. Participating artists: Abir Karmakar, Alok Bal, Debraj Goswami, Farhad Hussain, Jogen Chowdhury, Kingshuk Sarkar, Mayank Kumar Shyam, Mithu Sen, Paresh Maity, Partha Pratim Deb, Rashmi Bagchi Sarkar, Samit Das, Santosh More, Sumitro Basak and Swarna Chitrakar. December 18 - January 10 (except Mondays) at Anant Art Gallery, 18-A Alipore Road, 11am to 7pm: Beyond Convention: A Glimpse of Contemporary Trends in Bengal Art – an exhibition of paintings and sculptures curated by Mrinal Ghosh .Inauguration today at 6.30 pm. Till December 18 at Gaganendra Pradarshashala; 2 pm - 8 pm: Srijan presents an exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Amal Ghosh, Priyanka Pal, Sumita Adhikari and Bipasha Singha. Till December 18 at Metropolitan Art Salon, Suite 18, 7 Jawaharlal Nehru Road, #22289719; 2 pm - 7 pm: Paintings by Joy Dey, Umesh Jana, Piyali Chakraborty, Somnath Tamli, Ajay Mazumder, Chitra Ghosh, Soumen Adhikari, Soumen Bhattacharjee, Debiprasad Pradhan, Tanuparna Sanyal, Pradip Kuri and Ranajit Kumar Das. Till December 20 at G.C. Laha Centenary Fine Arts Gallery, Laha Paint House, 7 Chittaranjan Avenue, 1st floor; 2 pm - 7 pm: Fire on Canvas, an exhibition of paintings by Hemlata Goyal, Tanmoy Chatterjee and Sreesudip. Till December 20 at Akar Prakar, P 238 Hindustan Park, #2464 2617; 2 pm - 7 pm: Shrabani’s Alternative — an exhibition of recent work by Shrabani Roy. Till December 20 at Gallery Sanskriti, 5C Alipore Park Road; 11 am - 8 pm: Of Mortal, Mythic and Divine — a show of recent works of Rini Dhumal. Till December 20 at Academy of Fine Arts, Central Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: An exhibition of paintings (watercolour on silk) by Uma Bardhan, Rabin Pal, Kushumita Bhattacharyya and Prodip Kumar Sengupta. Till December 20 at Academy of Fine Arts, South Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: An exhibition of sculptures by Gadadhar Das. Till December 20 at Academy of Fine Arts, New South ‘A’ Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: Mood presents the 6th solo exhibition of paintings by Arup Lodh. Till December 27 at Gallery Nakshatra, 2/1 Outram Street, 2nd floor, #2289 2982; 11.30 am - 7.30 pm: Personal Feelings — showcasing the works of Rajesh Roy. Till December 28 (except Monday) at Birla Academy of Art & Culture; 4 pm - 8 pm: Society of Contemporary Artists presents an exhibition of paintings, graphics and sculptures by renowned artists. Till December 31 at Idiyas Gallery, 15 Dover Road, #6550 8418; 11 am - 7 pm: The Pageant of Life, featuring works by 15 well-known artists. Till January 3 (except December 25 & Mondays) at Birla Academy of Art & Culture; 3 pm - 8 pm: Rendezvous Hyderabad, an exhibition of the works by 21 artists from Hyderabad. Till January 6 (except Sundays & holidays) at Tejas Gallery; 1 pm - 7.30 pm: An exhibition of artworks by various artists from Calcutta, Santiniketan and Vietnam. The collection includes acrylics, charcoals, woodcuts and small sculptures. Till January 31 (weekdays only) at Masters Collection Art Gallery, G-7 Malalay Apartments, 3 Woodburn Park Road; 11 am - 7 pm: Small is Beautiful 3, an exhibition of miniature artworks by some of the greatest living legends along with some of the exciting new talents.

DRAMA FEST

Till December 21 at Madhusudan Mancha; 6.30 pm: Calcutta Comedy Carnival. Today: Mushthijog (Direction & acting: Dwijen Bandyopadhyay) by Samstab. Till December 21 at Laban Hrad Manch (BD Block), Salt Lake; 6.30 pm: Salt Lake Theatre hosts its seventh drama festival. Today: Joma Khoroch and Missed Call (Dir: Goutam Halder), a production by Goutam Halder and Debsankar Halder who are also in the lead. Till December 25 at Academy of Fine Arts: Nandikar’s 25th National Theatre Festival. Today at 6 pm: Sainyan Bhaye Kotowal (Hindi), produced by Natrang, Jammu and directed by Balwant Thakur. December 19 - 22 at Rabindra Sadan, Bangla Akademi Sabhaghar and Minerva Theatre; 6.30 pm: Academy Theatre Utsav. December 19 at Rabindra Sadan: Songs from Bengali theatre, Babu-Kolkatar Mancha-Gaan (songs by Riddhi and Devajit Bandyopadhyay; narration: Soumitra Chattopadhyay). December 20 at Rabindra Sadan: Theatre (Bangladesh) presents Meraj Fakirer Ma (Drama & dir: Abdullah Aal Mamun). December 21 at Bangla Akademi Sabhaghar: Tar-Betar Abhinoy in the context of cinema, theatre and jatra; participants: Madhabi Mukherjee, Ferdousi Mazumdar and Shantigopal; compere: Ramendu Majumdar. December 22 at Minerva Theatre: Theatre (Bangladesh) presents Mukti (Dir: Trapaa Mazumdar).

PERFORMING ARTS

December 18 at Rabindra Sadan; 6 pm: Kalamandalam Sangeetotsav 2008 features Odissi by Pompi Paul, Bharata Natyam by Shweta Prachande of Pune, Kathak by Sourav Roy, and the Kalamandalam Calcutta production, Abhisar, directed by Guru Smt. Thankamani Kutty. December 18 at Bangla Akademi; 5.30 pm: Samakaal presents an evening of solo, duet and group recitation. Concept & dir: Basudev Nandy. December 19 at Purbashree, EZCC, IB 201 Salt Lake, Sector III; 6 pm: The Bard’s Rainbow, a musical evening (Tagore songs) with Sudeshna Basu. December 20 & 21 at G.D. Birla Sabhagar; 6 pm: 32nd Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan. Dec. 20: Pandit Viswa Mohan Bhatt (mohan veena) and Shubhra Guha (vocal). Dec. 21: Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty (vocal) and Pandit Satish Vyas (santoor). Hosted by Citigroup Inc.

SEMINAR

December 18 at The Asiatic Society, Vidyasagar Hall; 10.30 am: Inauguration of a two-day seminar on Centenary Celebration: Contributions of Claude Levi-Strauss.

CONFERENCE

December 18 - 20 at Seva Kendra (52B Radhanath Chaudhuri Road, # 2329 4905); post-lunch - 6 pm: Swayam and Muhammad Bazar Backward Class Development Society host the National Conference of the Muslim Women's Rights Network.

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY

December 18 at Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math: The 156th birthday celebration of Holy Mother Sri Sri Maa Sarada Devi. At the temple, 4.40 am onwards: Mangalarati, vedic chanting, devotional songs, special puja and homa. In the pandal: Matri sangeet (8 am), reading from Sri Sri Mayer Katha by Swami Vimalatmananda (9.05 am), bhajan (9.45 am), Sarada Sangeet (10.35 am), padabali kirtan (11.30 am), Leela Geeti Bhakta Janani Devi Sarada (12.50 pm) and devotional songs (2.10 pm); public meeting at 3 pm: Life and Teachings of the Holy Mother (Speakers: Swami Tyagananda and Swami Suhitananda). December 18 at Ramakrishna Math, Baranagar; 5 am onwards (day-long): The 156th birth anniversary of Sri Sri Maa Sarada Devi. Special puja, havan, Kali-kirtan at 5 am; dharma sabha (5.45 am), Geeti-alekshya Jagajjanani Ma Sarada (6.45 am), padavali kirtan (8 am). December 18 at Sri Sarada Math, Dakshineswar: The 156th birth anniversary of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi will be celebrated with special Puja, Homa and Chandipath. After bhajans, Pravrajika Bhaswaraprana will discuss the life and techings of the Holy Mother at 10.30 am. From 3 pm to 5 pm there will be a ladies meeting December 18 at Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 19B Raja Rajkrishna Street; 6.30 pm: A discourse to mark the 156th birth anniversary of Sri Sri Maa Sarada Devi.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Till December 20 at Gallery K2, Supra Court, 35 Lansdowne Terrace, #2465 1444; 11 am - 7 pm: An exhibition of photographs taken by Thorpa Chotron, Suman Dutta, Amit Datta, Arup Dutta, Indranil Ghosh, Suman Mitra, Ritendra Roy, Sridhar Shankar and Shankar S. Till January 15 at Earthcare Books and Resource Centre, 10 Middleton Street; 11 am - 7 pm: Calcutta! — an exhibition of black-and-white photographs taken by Thomas Patrick Kiernan.

EXHIBITION

December 18, 19 & 20 at Kalyan Mandapam, 38B Broad Street, # 2247 9001; 4 pm - 8 pm: Swar Sangam, Birla Institute of Liberal Arts and Management Sciences and the Ashok Hall Group of Schools present an exhibition of visual arts and fashion. Till January 12 (except Tuesdays) at Halo Heritage Art Shop, 26 Ritchie Road, #2419 0133; 11.30 am - 9 pm: In collaboration with Soumya’s Creation, Halo Heritage presents an exhibition of textiles, jewellery and home accessories.

KIDS’ CORNER

December 19 at Starmark, 3 Lord Sinha Road, 4 pm - 8 pm : Starmark to hold Christmas Carnival for children with Santa Claus, games, magic shows, hair braiding, fancydress competitions and food. For details, call 99039 85097. December 19 - 21 at Starmark, 3 Lord Sinha Road and South City Mall; 4 pm – 7 pm: Starmark to hold nail painting and caricature sessions for children. For details, call 99039 85097.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