Israeli antiquity A small country, Israel has the highest density of known archaeological sites per kilometer. Christian and, later, Muslim communities living in this land have left numerous traces of their rich, distinctive cultures. Since the middle of the last century, the search for religious and cultural roots has attracted countless travellers, scholars and clergymen to the country, leading to renewed interest in its forgotten, ancient ruins. Archaeology from the Air, the ongoing exhibition of photographs, has a selection of the best-known and most interesting archaeological sites as seen from an aerial view. The photographs offer significant insights into the civilization and culture of a period in history that has changed the destiny of a large part of the human race. Captured by Duby Tal and Moni Haramati, two former Israeli Air Force pilots who now specialise in commercial and artistic photography, the photographs provide an excellent opportunity to view the sites in their natural geographical setting. Event: An exhibition of photographs of some of the best archaeological sites in Israel When: Till February 27, 12 noon - 8 pm Where: Shabhaghar, Swabhumi

Art

Till February 25 at Masters Collection Gallery, G5/G7 Malayalay, 3 Woodburn Park Road; 11 am - 6 pm: Old Masters? Classics, showcasing a collection of oil reproductions on canvas of works of European and American world masters like Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, Monet, Da Vinci, Dali, Michelangelo, Kandinsky, Turner and others. Till February 26 at Birla Academy of Art & Culture; 4 pm - 8 pm: Second solo exhibition of paintings by Srimahadeb. February 26 - March 4 at Academy of Fine Arts, North Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: Bengal Chromosome, an art exposition on the cultural bond between Bengal and Bangladesh. Inauguration tomorrow at 5.30 pm. Till February 27 at Metropolitan Art Salon, Suite 18, 7 Jawaharlal Nehru Road; 3 pm - 8 pm: Paintings by Pranab Sarkar, Saptarshi Banerjee, Soumitra Kheto, Sanjoy Roy Sharma, Ranajit Singha, Subir Das and Sukanta Shil. Till February 27 at Academy of Fine Arts; West Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: Expanded Space, drawings, paintings and installations by Arunendu Banerjee. Till February 27 at Genesis Art Gallery, 8B Middleton Street; 3 pm - 7 pm: Paints Icon, paintings by Kishore Chakraborty, Biswajit Mandal and Nabakishore Chanda.

drama

February 25 at Madhusudan Mancha; 6.30 pm: Doubarik will stage Ae Parabasey. Dir: Sarbadaman Som. February 25 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.45 pm: Drishyapat presents Babli. Dir: Anirban Bhattacharya. February 26 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.30 pm: Nandikar presents Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay?s Chokh Gyalo and Munshi Premchand?s Barda. Dir: Goutam Halder. February 26 at Bijon Theatre; 6.30 pm: Kashmir Princess, a Samabay Proyash production. Dir: Bibhas Chakraborty. February 26 at Girish Mancha; 6.30 pm: Manmoyee Girls? School, produced by Samikshan. Dir: Pankaj Munshi. February 26 at Madhusudan Mancha; 6.30 pm: Natya Anan presents Surya Shikar. Dir: Chandan Sen. February 26 at Rabindra Sadan; 6.30 pm: Gandhar presents Satyaasatya. Dir: Shyamal Chakraborty.

PERFORMING ARTS

February 25 at Bangla Academy hall; 5 pm: To mark its silver jubilee, Hiranyabati Grameen Shipa Niketan hosts a cultural evening featuring an audio-play, recitation, poetry reading and songs. February 25 at Emami Landmark; 6.30 pm: Music Hour with singer Srikanta Acharya. February 25 at Kala Kunj; 7 pm: Gandhar Rabindrasangeet Shikshayatan hosts a programme of Tagore songs directed by Kakali Ray. February 26 at Madhusudan Mancha; 10.30 am: Mentaid, an association for the development of the mentally handicapped will hold its 12th annual concert featuring dramatic and other performances by challenged children. February 26 at Gyan Manch; 6.30 pm: Spandan presents Parampara ? classical sitar recital by Prof. Subroto Roy Chowdhury and Indrajit Roy Chowdhury. February 26 at Tollygunge Club; 7.30 pm: Tollygunge Club, Spandan and Sanskriti Sagar present R.D. Burman Nite: A Tribute to the Legend ? live performance of some of the most celebrated film songs of R.D. Burman.

talk

February 25 at Ramakrishna Mission Saradapitha, Belur Math; 5.30 pm: Swami Shantatmananda will speak on Naradiya Bhakti Sutra. February 25 at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Vivekananda Hall; 6.15 pm: Swami Prabhananda will speak in Bengali on Amukhya Gita.

exhibition

February 25 at Hotel Senator, 15 Camac Street; 10 am - 7 pm: An exhibition of designer suits and sarees by Rewaz of Delhi. Till February 27 at Academy of Fine Arts; 3 pm - 8 pm: The 52nd International Calendar Exhibition hosted by International Calendar Exhibition Society.

photographs

Till February 28 at Chitrakoot Art Gallery; 1 pm - 8 pm: Riddle in a Tea Cup, an exhibition of photographs by Abhra Aich and Prabhas Kejariwal.

panel discussion

February 25 at Birla Academy of Art & Culture; 2 pm: Calcutta Management Association and Academy for Professional Excellence host a panel discussion on Careers ? Charting Out One?s Own Path.

reunion

February 25 at Calcutta Boys? School; 6 pm onwards: 18th annual reunion of Calcutta Boys? School hosted by Calcutta Boys? School Old Boys? Association. Includes a performance by Krosswindz and dinner. All are requested to attend.

reading

February 26 at G.D. Birla Sabhagar; 11 am: Professor P. Lal reads Sanjaya?s report to self-pitying Dhritarashtra of miscellaneous sorties and combats as Yudhisthira?s warriors regroup and counterattack Drona?s reinforcements, in the 317th weekly Sunday session of his sloka-by-sloka English transcreation of Vyasa?s Mahabharata.

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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