Reaching for the stars At 21, Deen is dismayed by the poverty around him and trapped in negativity. Alienated from family and society, heroin is his drug of choice. Along with his partner-in-crime AJ, he rides high on acid and amphetamines, philosophises in the university canteen, parties at a politician’s posh pad and contemplates God at a roadside tea stall. From Maria, a chemically-imbalanced diva, to a rickshaw-puller who reflects on the importance of optimism, to a group of fakirs who sing about love and a detective who has his own take on addiction, the characters in like a diamond in the sky, Shazia Omar’s debut novel, crackle with life. They represent the despair, hopes and aspirations of a generation struggling to survive the harsh realities of life in modern Dhaka. Hard-hitting and intensely-moving, this is an extraordinary novel, and one that promises to launch Omar as a major contemporary voice from south Asia. This evening, Starmark, in collaboration with Penguin Books India and Zubaan, hosts the launch of the book. To be followed by a conversation between Kavita Punjabi and the author. Event: Launch of Shazia Omar’s novel like a diamond in the sky When: Today at 6.30 pm Where: Starmark, 3 Lord Sinha Road

Art

Till September 9 (except Sunday) at Emami Chisel Art Pvt. Ltd, Emami Towers, 687 Anandapur, E.M. Bypass, #40113182/83; 11 am - 7 pm: Emami Chisel presents Bikash Bhattacharjee: A retrospective exhibition of paintings. Till August 21 at Chemould, 12F Park Street; 2 pm - 7 pm: An exhibition of paintings by Sukhamoy Majumder. Till August 21 at Academy of Fine Arts, Central Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: Dristikon presents an exhibition of paintings and sculptures by young artists. Participants: I. Leishangthem, M. Thomas Singh, Pinaki Mukherjee, Monidipa Paul, Ashis Dutta, Sujoy Haldar, C. Moirangthem, Debabrata Dey, Sukanta Maurh and N. Bhattacharya. Till August 21 at Academy of Fine Arts; 3 pm - 8 pm: The fifth solo exhibition of paintings and drawings by Sujit Kumar Ghosh. Till August 22 at Masters Collection Art Gallery, G-7 Malayalay Apts, 3 Woodburn Park, #30534053; 11 am - 6 pm: A group exhibition of paintings. Featuring works by Arup Ratan Choudhury, Bibhas Baidya, Indrajit Basu, Manas Mohan Bhaumik, Shuvendu Sarkar and Sushanta Das. Till August 23 at The Promenade Lounge, Taj Bengal; 10 am - 11 pm: A solo exhibition of recent works by Subrata Ghosh. The artist will be painting live from 3 pm to 6 pm. Till August 24 at Birla Academy of Art & Culture, 4th floor; 4 pm - 8 pm: Touch to Touch — a group exhibition of paintings. Till August 29 at Galerie Karma, P-505 Keyatola Road; 11 am - 7 pm: The 3rd group exhibition of Rangan. Featuring paintings and graphics by Abhijit Paul, Anjana Mukherjee, Hirack Chand, Ruma Bera, Sabyasachi Borah and Sandeep R Chowdhury. Till August 30 (except Mondays) at Birla Academy of Art & Culture; 4 pm - 8 pm: Man of Bronze — an exhibition of bronze studies of Bengal’s celebrities and embroidered paintings on canvas by Swapan Maity and Susmita Maity. Till August 30 (except Mondays) at Birla Academy of Art & Culture; 3 pm - 8 pm: An exhibition of paintings, sculptures, drawings and graphics by the awardees at the Annual Exhibition 2009 of Birla Academy. Participants: Amlan Dutta, Anupam Das, Avijit Mukherjee, Debashree Das, Harjit Saha, Manjushree Chakraborty and Sujit Karan. Till September 10 (except Sundays) at Tejas Art Gallery, 11 Mayfair Road, #98300 49825; 1 pm - 7.30 pm: An exhibition of affordable artwork: prints, small canvases, woodcuts, lithos, patachitras, paperworks, etc.

TALK

August 20 at Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 19B Raja Rajkrishna Street; 7 pm: Swami Samshuddhananda will speak in Bengali on Mandukya-Karika. August 20 at Bidhannagar Ramakrishna Vivekananda Kendra, DD-44 Salt Lake; 7 pm: Bijan Lodh will speak on Mayer Katha. August 20 at Ramakrishna Math, Baranagar; 7 pm: Swami Vamanananda will speak on Spiritual Retreat and Guided Meditation.

DRAMA

August 20 at Girish Mancha; 6.30 pm: Rang Roop presents Jalchhabi. Direction & performance: Seema Mukhopadhyay. August 20 at Madhusudan Mancha; 6.30 pm: Shohan presents Helmet. Dir: Anish Ghosh. August 20 at Tapan Theatre; 6.30 pm: Mukhomukhi and Niva Arts jointly present Atmakatha. Bengali adaptation & direction: Soumitra Chattopadhyay. August 23 at Gyan Manch; 6.30 pm: Spandan presents Apan Hain Deshpande, a play in Hindi directed by Ashok Singh. Playwright: Mahesh Elkunchwar. Translated by Vasant Dev.

PERFORMING ARTS

August 20 at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Vivekananda Hall; 6 pm: A jugalbandi by Mor Mukut Kedia (sitar) and Manoj Kumar Kedia (sarod) with Subhajyoti Guha on the tabla. August 21 & 22 at Kala Mandir; 6.30 pm: Students of Ananda Shankar Centre for Performing Arts will present their 22nd annual show. August 22 at Calcutta School of Music, Sandre Hall; 7 pm: Ranan and Open Doors present Ankur 2009 - emerging talent in classical dance. Featuring Priyanki Roy (Odissi; Calcutta), disciple of Sharmila Biswas, and Sreelakshmy Govardhanan (Kuchipudi; Thrissur), disciple of Vyjayanthi Kashi.

EXHIBITION

August 20 - 22 at Anusthan Bhawan, 132 Rashbehari Avenue; 10.30 am - 8 pm: Gulal — an exhibition of handwoven and blockprinted tussar sarees by Rehwa, Indira Broker, Indian Emporium and Bai Lou. Well-known designer Sharbori Dutta will be present at the opening ceremony today at 11 am. August 20 - 22 at All Bengal Women’s Union, 89 Elliot Road; 10.30 am - 5 pm: Pre-puja show of block-printed sarees and table linen, embroidered baby frocks and nighties, handwoven beddpreads, table napkins, freshly hround spices, cakes and muffins. Till August 20 at 5/2 Cornfield Road, #98300 39836; 11 am - 8 pm: Nupur’s Boutique presents its pre-Puja collection of Madhubani kalamkari sarees, block-print sarees, hand embroidery, dress material and suits. Till August 20 at 23 Raja Santosh Road, Flat 8C Alipore; 11 am - 7 pm: Namrata Kanoi displays a range of handcrafted bags and footwear. Till August 22 at Kausik Hall of Nari Seva Sangha; 12 noon - 7 pm: Nari Seva Sangha’s Puja exhibition of cotton-printed sarees, children’s clothes, woollen garments, handicrafts, eco-friendly carry bags, spices, frozen vegetables and snacks. Till August 22 at 10 Dr Sarat Banerjee Road, #2466 1111; 10 am - 7 pm: Kundahar’s annual display of sarees. Till August 20 at 80G Sarat Bose Road; 11 am - 5 pm: Chandni unveils her new collection of sarees, light and bridal lehengas. Also, diaper cakes and baby arrival bouquets for baby showers and parties. 9831038115, 9339058424. Till August 31 at 5/1 Anil Moitra Road, #2440 8926/27; 9.30 am - 6.30 pm: Weavers Studio presents Khadi Walk, a collection of yardage, dupattas, sarees in a variety of textures and colours by Dastakar from Andhra Pradesh. Till September 16 at 108 Raja Basanta Roy Road; 11 am - 7.30 pm: Paramita Viswanathan presents a Puja collection of exclusive sarees from the South and prints by Design. Till September 24 at Darbari, P-249 Purna Das Road, #2464 4027; 11 am - 8 pm: An exhibition showcasing exclusive hand-embroidered, printed and woven ladies and men’s wear.

FILM SHOW

Till August 21 at Gorky Sadan; 6 pm: Eisenstein Cine Club presents Long Shot - Mid Shot - Close Up, a tribute to the masters of Indian cinema. Today: Trishagni (Dir: Nabendu Ghosh). Till August 22 at Nandan II: Federation of Film Societies of India, in collaboration with Nandan, West Bengal Film Centre and Asian Group of International Federation of Film Societies, hosts a Malaysian Film Festival. Today: The Big Durian (Dir: Amir Muhammad) at 4 pm; and Sepet (Dir: Yasmin Ahmad) at 6.30 pm.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Till August 23 at Nandan; 3 pm - 8 pm: An international exhibition for the promotion of creative photography. Organised by National Academy of Photography and Persona-International.

IN MEMORIAM

August 20 at Max Mueller Bhavan; 6.30 pm: Remembering Pina — an evening dedicated to Pina Bausch, german choreographer and leading international exponent of dance theatre who passed away last June 30. The programme will be anchored by Nandita Palchoudhuri and will end with the screening of a 43-minute film on Bausch directed by Anne Linsel.

LITERARY SESSION

August 20 at Oxford Bookstore, 17 Park Street; 6.30 pm: Introductory session of Oxford Booklovers Club will include discussion and interactions on relevant subjects that will provide insights to the participants.

BOOK LAUNCH

August 20 at Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi; 5.30 pm: Sharatkumar Mukhopadhyay will formally release Sushmita Guha Roy’s Mayabandar Nirantar, an anthology of pems.

QUIZ

September 12 at St Xavier’s College auditorium; 4 pm - 8 pm: ALSOC Alumni Quiz for three-member teams from the same school or college, with at least one member being an alumnus of the institution. No entry fee. QM: Gautam Ghosh. Celebrity guest QM: Neil O’Brien. Eight teams qualify for the final. For details, contact Shankar Ramalingam (98300 09889) or Gautam Ghosh (98300 44093).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