The turning point A folk play based on the ritual of human-sacrifice still prevalent in the remote districts of Himachal Pradesh, Kaheka narrates the tragic incidents that lead the people of a village to denounce its age-old, barbarous practices. Viram, a student in Delhi, hails from a family of metal sculptors, who live in a village in Kullu. He returns to his village along with his friends, Girish and Jyoti. His city-bred friends express shock when they learn that Viram?s father will not be allowed to be part of a ceremony to establish an idol he created, since he belongs to a low caste. Viram?s brother Thunia is influenced by them and steals the idol. When it is found, the village heads ask Viram to atone for the sin. As human-sacrifice is forbidden, he is given opium and falls in a deep slumber, while the sacrificial ritual is performed. But, he fails to regain consciousness even long afterwards, and ultimately dies. This becomes the turning point in the life of the village ?untouchables?, and they rise in demand for their right to self-governance. Direction: Amitava Dasgupta. Event: Play in Hindi, Kaheka, by Brechtian Mirror, Delhi When: Today at 6 pm Where: Bharatiyam Cultural Multiplex, IB-201 Salt Lake

Art

July 25 at Nehru Children?s Museum; 3.30 pm - 6.30 pm: Exhibition of prize-winning paintings of 33rd Sit & Draw Art Contest 2006. July 25 - July 30 at Academy of Fine Arts, North Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: Paintings and photographs by Partha Pratim Deb, Biswajit Dasgupta, Rajesh Deb, Debanjan Das and Jayanta Paul. Till July 27 at Academy of Fine Arts, Central Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: Paintings by Premangshu Mitra, Sanjit Halder, Ranjit Sutar and Partha Biswas. Till July 27 at Academy of Fine Arts, West Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: 4th solo exhibition of oil paintings by Arun Jana. Till July 27 at Chitrakoot Art Gallery, 55 Gariahat Road; 3 pm - 8 pm: The Inner Voice, paintings by Karunamoy Sur. Till July 28 at Idiyas Gallery, 15 Dover Road; 10.30 am - 7.30 pm: The Masters of Imagination, works of eminent artists. Till July 29 at CIMA Gallery; 3 pm - 7 pm (today), 2 pm - 7 pm (Tuesday - Saturday): Primal Force, an exhibition of paintings, graphics and sculptures. Featuring over 90 artworks from Madhya Pradesh. Till July 29 at Gallery Kanishka?s, 2/1 Hindusthan Road; 11 am - 8 pm: Shrishti, paintings, sculptures and prints by 22 reputed artists of Shantiniketan. Till July 30 at Nandan-II lobby; 2 pm - 8 pm: Paintings by three young artists, depicting Uttam Kumar in his different moods. Till August 5 (except Sunday) at Gallery Sanskriti, 5C Alipore Road; 11 am - 8 pm: A Variegated Odyssey, a retrospective of the works of Sailen Mittra. Till August 5 at Akar Prakar, P-238 Hindustan Park; 7 pm: Erostrade, installation performance by The Alternative Art Group. Till August 5 (except Sunday) at Galerie 88, 28B Shakespeare Sarani; 3 pm - 7 pm: Pioneer Printmakers of Bengal, featuring the works of Somnath Hore, Krishna Reddy, Dipak Banerjee, Sanat Kar and Lalu Prasad Shaw. Till August 6 at Samokal Art Gallery, 23 Gariahat Road, 1st floor; 4 pm - 8 pm: Paintings by eminent artists of Bengal. Till August 26 (weekdays only) at Masters Collection Art Gallery, G7 Malayalay Apts, 3 Woodburn Park Road; 11 am - 7 pm: New Horizons, paintings by 25 emerging artists of Bengal.

drama

July 25 at Rabindra Sadan; 6.30 pm: As part of Gankrishti Natya Utsav, Ethnomedia America presents Ron. Drama and direction: Sudipto Bhoumik. July 25 at Girish Mancha; 6.30 pm: Nandikar presents Jasimuddin?s Sojon Badiyar Ghat. Direction: Goutam Halder. July 26 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.30 pm: The concluding day of Ganakrishti Natya Utsav features Tashkar Brittanto, produced by Ganakrishti. Adaptation and direction: Amitava Dutta. July 26 at Girish Mancha; 6.30 pm: Nandikar presents Vladlen Dozortsev?s Shesh Sakshatkar. Adaptation and direction: Rudraprasad Sengupta. July 27 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.30 pm: Nandikar presents Willy Russell?s Shanu Roychowdhury. Adaptation and direction: Rudraprasad Sengupta.

performing arts

July 25 at Madhusudan Mancha; 6.30 pm: Sunandan presents Srabaner Gaan, Tagore songs by Enakshi Chattopadhyay. July 25 at Satyananda Devayatan, Jadavpur; 6.30 pm: Violin recital by Mrinal Sen, accompanied by Sujit Saha (tabla). July 26 at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture; 6 pm: To commemorate the birth anniversary of Rajanikanta Sen, an evening of songs by Arghya Sen, Atanu Sanyal, Maitreyee Mazumdar and Swastika Mukhopadhyay. July 29 at Max Mueller Bhavan; 6.30 pm: Ranan and Open Doors present Ankur 2006 ? emerging talent in the performing arts. Featuring Ronita De (Hindustani vocal) and Amrit Khatua and Madhumita Banerjee (duet Kathakali).

talk

July 25 at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Shivananda Hall; 6 pm: Swami Sarvabhutananda will speak in Hindi on Sri Sri Narada Pancharatram. July 25 at Ramakrishna Math, Baranagar; 7.15 pm: Amiya Prasad Chakraborty will discourse on The Life and Teachings of Yugacharya Swamiji.

film Show

Till August 3 at Gorky Sadan; 6 pm: Consulate General of Italy and Eisenstein Cine Club host Centenary Tribute to Luchino Visconti and Roberto Rossellini through a festival of films. Today: Rocco and his Brothers.

in memoriam

July 25 at Calcutta Press Club; 4 pm: Jhumur Kala Sangam commemorates Uttam Kumar?s death anniversary with the presentation of Uttam Ratna and Uttam Lekhani awards.

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