Return to the roots Modern trends in art, as in life, express a deliberate aversion to the well-traversed and time-tested paths followed by our predecessors. Pratham Paath tells a story that make us conscious of the need to respect our traditions and reconnect with our past. Sanatan Paul and his son Bhuvan are old, veteran artisans of Kumartuli who have devoted their entire lives to building images of Goddess Durga. Bhuvan?s son, Pritam, is a young artist who is of the opinion that such artisans are mere workmen and that they lack creativity. His belief, however, is not based on a contempt of the past. Rather, he is against the monotonous and repetitive nature of art practised by contemporary artisans. As the Pujas draw near, he is flooded with orders to make idols. He feels lost when asked to make an image of classical design. His grandfather Sanatan comes to his rescue by teaching him the fundamentals of the craft. Thus, Pritam is finally reconciled with his illustrious aesthetic heritage. Drama and direction: Romaprasad Banik. Event: Play in Bengali, Pratham Paath, produced by Ajantrik When: Today at 6.30 pm Where: Academy of Fine Arts

Art

June 26 - July 1 at G.C. Laha Centenary Fine Arts Gallery; 2 pm - 7 pm: Trauma Traversed, paintings and collages by Tapan Kumar Das and Arpita Das. Till June 27 at Academy of Fine Arts; 3 pm - 8 pm: Paintings by Madhu Dhanuka and Sankari Mitra. Till June 28 at Charnock City, KB-26 Salt Lake; 4 pm - 8 pm: Paintings and installations by Melanie Richter-Hood. Till June 30 at Chemould Art Gallery, 12F Park Street; 2 pm - 7 pm: Paintings on Rajasthan by Nitai Saha. Till June 30 at Vikalp Art Shop, Swabhumi; 4 pm - 8 pm: New Signatures, featuring works of young artists like Anirban Seth, Arindam Chakraborty, Kakoli Misra, Mrinal Mandal, Palash Bhaduri & Pranab Roy and sculptures in porcelain by Debojit Chakraborty. Till June 30 at Gallery Nakshatra, 2/1 Outram Street, 2nd floor; 12 noon - 7 pm: The Summer: Content and Discontent, featuring works of celebrated Indian painters. Till June 30 at Gallery Kanishka?s; 11 am - 8 pm: Stylistic Variations, works of eminent artists like Bijon Chowdhury, D.N. Brahma, Paritosh Sen, Prakash Karmakar, Ramananda Bandyopadhyay and others. Till July 2 (except Saturday) at Galerie La Mere, 3 Regent Park; 4 pm - 8 pm: Drawings and paintings by six young artists.

drama

June 26 at Nandan premises; 6 pm: As part of Hutch Odeon 2006, Jhalapala presents a street-theatre, Abol Tabol. Dir: Shantanil Ganguly. June 28 at Sisir Mancha; 6.30 pm: Nandipat presents Ramanimohan. Dir: Prakash Bhattacharya. June 29 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.30 pm: On its 47th foundation day, Nandikar presents Jasimuddin?s Sojon Badiyar Ghaat. Dir: Goutam Halder. June 30 at The Palladian Lounge; 7.30 pm: Spandan and The Palladian Lounge present the English play, The Lover. Dir: Ashoke Viswanathan. July 1 at Madhusudan Mancha; 6.30 pm: Nandikar presents Fyodor Dostoyevsky?s Maramiya Mon. Performance and direction: Goutam Halder.

PERFORMING ARTS

June 26 at Sisir Mancha; 5.45 pm: Rupkatha presents Ei Barshaye Rabindranath O Nazrul, an evening of songs (by Achin Mukhopadhyay, Debarati Som, Iravati Basu and others) and recitations. June 27 at Crossword Bookstore; 6 pm: The Rainmongers, a rendezvous with monsoon ragas (instrumental and vocal), songs of Tagore and Atulprasad and poetic expressions. Participants: Abhik Mukherjee, Dr Sudeshna Basu, Nipobithi Ghosh, Barun Chanda, Bijoylakshmi Burman and Suchita Raychaudhuri. Compere: Rita Bhimani. Concept & direction: Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee. June 27 at Sisir Mancha; 6 pm: Uccharan presents Saater Sargam, an evening of recitation. June 27 at G.D. Birla Sabhagar; 7 pm: Sapphire Creations Dance Workshop present The Alien Flower, India?s first ballet on same-gender love. Concept and choreography: Sudarshan Chakravorty. To be followed by a discussion on Changing Portrayals of Gender and Sexuality in the Arts and Media ? The Last Decade. Also, screening of Pokhhiraaj ? The Pegasus, the first Bengali and Indian music video on LGBT rights, by Cactus and SAATHII. July 1 at CLT Aban Mahal, Dhakuria; 5.15 pm: Sree Satyananda Sangeetpeeth- Dance Wing presents the dance-drama, Krishna Lila. Choreography and direction: Godhuli Bhattacharya and Kumkum Das.

talk

June 26 at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Vivekananda Hall; 6.15 pm: Swami Puranananda will speak in Bengali on Adhyatma Ramayana. June 26 at Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 19 A&B Raja Rajkrishna Street; 7 pm: Prof Amalendu Chakraborty will speak on Sri Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga.

photographs

Till June 30 at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Museum & Art Gallery: Image 2006, photographs by Debatosh Sengupta.

book release

June 26 at Seagull Bookstore, 31A S.P. Mukherjee Road; 6.30 pm: Sunil Gangopadhyay will release A Breath of Vyas, a play by Dileep Jhaveri. He will also discuss with the author about Why the Mahabharata is still relevant to us. To be followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.

exhibition

June 27 - June 29 at The Ice Skating Rink; 10 am - 8 pm: Aakarshan 2006, an exhibition-cum-sale in aid of charities. Organised by Inner Wheel Club of Calcutta Mahanagar.

rath yatra

June 27 - July 4 at Swabhumi: On the occasion of Rath Yatra, Utkala will host a Orissa festival. Featuring Geeta Govinda Festival of classical dances, Odissi music, traditional theatre, folk dance and music of Orissa, along with display of Orissa handicraft and handloom. Also, a vocal music, dance and painting competition (July 2) and painting workshop for schoolchildren.

quiz

July 1 at Swabhumi: Utkala is organising a quiz session for schoolchildren. For details, contact Shreelina Ghosh, #9830439040.

workshop

June 28 at Solace Day Spa & Wellness Centre, 4 Sunny Park; 7 pm: Aikido ? the martial art of peace & harmony workshop for adults.

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