Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Bonalu, Bathukamma declared state festivals

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Hyderabad :

The vibrant and unique folk festivals, Bonalu and Bathukamma, that reflect the Telangana culture were on Monday declared as the state festivals by the TRS government.

“The government has decided to declare Bonalu and Bathukamma as state festivals as they signify the unique culture of Telangana,” said excise minister T Padma Rao Goud. By declaring them state festivals, the government will fund the official celebrations in the temple and make other necessary arrangements. The decision was taken in a meeting of officials convened by CM K Chandrasekhar Rao where he reviewed arrangements for the Ramzan month starting June 28 which coincides with the celebration of Bonalu in the twin cities this year.

Along with Goud, deputy chief minister Md Mahmood Ali, MIM leader and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Mayor Majjid Hussain, deputy mayor G Rajkumar, Hyderabad city police commissioner and others were presented in the meeting. Goud said mobile transformers would be used during Bonalu celebrations at various temples in the twin cities to ensure uninterrupted power supply. Bonalu is celebrated during the month of Ashada on the Hindu calendar which normally falls in July or August. This time, the Ashada month is starting on June 28. Devotees offer cooked rice and jaggery to Mahankali, a female deity, as a mark of thanksgiving. On the first Sunday of Aashadam, celebrations are held at the temple at Golconda Fort. On the second Sunday, the festivities move to Ujjaini Mahakali temple in Secunderabad and Balkampet Yellamma temple in Balkampet, and on the third, at the Matheswari temple of Lal Darwaza in the Old City.

Bathukamma falls in September-October and is celebrated for nine days during Navaratri. It starts on the day of Mahalaya Amavasya and the 9-day festivities culminate on “Saddula Bathukamma” or “Pedda Bathukamma” festival on Ashwayuja Ashtami, popularly known as Durgashtami which is two days before Dasara.The CM also sanctioned Rs 5 crore for Ramzan.

“Special arrangements would be made to supply water and power to the mosques during the month of Ramzan. And the government and private establishment have been informed to relieve Muslim employees by 4.30 pm during the holy month,” said Mahmood Ali.

Meanwhile, the state government decided to continue the existing fee reimbursement scheme of the students from the weaker sections. In a decision taken at an all-party meeting convened by the CM, the government said it would reimburse even the fee for the students from Seemandhra, while the AP government would reimburse the fee for the students from Telangana studying in that state.

“It was decide to continue the scheme without any alteration. The Telangana government will reimburse the fee for the students studying in Telangana and the AP government will reimburse fee for the students studying in Seemandhra,” said education minister G Jagadish Reddy.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / June 17th, 2014

Nose typing: First Indian with 2 Guinness Records

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion
Khursheed Hussain with his Guinness World Records certificate (Photo: DC/File)
Khursheed Hussain with his Guinness World Records certificate (Photo: DC/File)

Hyderabad:

Khursheed Hussain, a Guinness World Record holder in typing, has now set the world record in typing using his nose. The record for ‘nose-typing’ was earlier held by a girl from Dubai.

He is the first one from India to hold two Guinness World Records. “I had to struggle a lot to get this for the country. I had to undergo regular mental and fitness training. And I practised for about eight hours a day for six months,” said Mr Hussain.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / June 25th, 2014

PV Birth Anniv to be State Function

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders

Hyderabad :

The Telangana government will celebrate the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao as ‘state function’.

The government issued orders to this effect on Tuesday. ‘’All the Heads of Departments and all district collectors are requested to celebrate the birth anniversary of PV Narasimha Rao, former Prime Minister on June 28 in a befitting manner,’’ the orders said.

Telangana Bidda PV was the first Telugu Prime Minister.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / June 25th, 2014

Never too Old for business

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Travel
A block printing workshop at Lad Bazaar. Photo: G. Ramakrishna
A block printing workshop at Lad Bazaar. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

Charminar and its vicinity will soon don a festive look for Ramzan, but regular visitors vouch for colour and mirth in the Old City any time of the year

How early is early depends on which part of Hyderabad you are in. The market areas of the Old City barely are stretching themselves out of slumber around 9 a.m., a time when arterial roads in other parts of the city are choked with vehicles. These areas come alive only after noon. The 9 a.m. to 12 noon window is when one can drive through the area within minutes, or walk along the arched pathways, taking in views normally hidden behind endless street-side stalls peddling all things from quilts to dresses, leather to books, old coins to pearls, Unani medicine to mehndi.

By noon, the areas from Gulzar Houz to Patherghatti and Charminar to Lad Bazaar, leading up to the Chowmohalla Palace teem with people. Navigating this part of the town on a regular day is no less intriguing than during Ramzan, when shops here sparkle even more, selling all things bright and colourful. With a few days for Ramzan, the Old City is gearing up to cater to food lovers who will make multiple visits for their fill of haleem. But as a few vendors point out, there’s no dearth of activity all year round.

Ali Bin Abdullah, who runs a hole-in-the-wall store at Patherghatti stocked with plastic containers, mehndi and other cosmetics, points out, “On a regular day, I begin my work early because I have plenty of stock. It will take me at least an hour to dust and arrange them and by the time the first few customers come in, the display has to be good.” Adjacent to this store, Iqbal is busy wiping the dust off perfume bottles and adds, “The area has become so polluted and it takes time to clean the bottles. We have brisk sales through the year.”

Jewellery boxes, gift pouches, leather articles, trinkets and kaarigars working overtime to embroider garments for special occasions are all what make the market areas of the Old City a much frequented place. Large paper kites adorn the streets near Gulzar Houz during Sankranti and clay diyas are prominent during Deepavali. As for food, there’s never a dearth. Merchants sell seviyan round the year though the stock multiplies during Ramzan; pushcarts sell pieces of ‘junnu’ for Rs. 10 and fresh produce of fruits and vegetables are laid out for eager customers.

A few kilometres ahead, the kova sellers of Shah Ali Banda are gearing up for the festive season with more stock along with the eateries offering haleem. Elsewhere, in the bylanes of Begum Bazaar, traffic threatens to clog the roads every now and then. Plastic wares, aluminium and steel utensils, clay crafts, bangles and household items, the markets in Begum Bazaar make brisk business.

V. Sandhya, a homemaker who lives in Secunderabad, frequents the Old City to pick up pouches for return gifts, costume jewellery and kaarigars who take up custom tailoring. “Ours is a large family and whenever there is a celebration — be it weddings or smaller functions — people count on me to help. These days, you can source gift pouches and bags from General Bazaar and Ameerpet as well but nothing matches the vibrancy of the Old City. The bangles one gets in Lad Bazaar and the Begum Bazaar are unbeatable. My visits to these bazaars are incomplete without a lassi or falooda. I am sure I will visit these pockets with my family during Ramzan for the great food, but nothing stops me even other times of the year,” she says.

Anjum, a homemaker who specialises in making sweets, puts things in perspective, “The Old City symbolises Deccani tehzeeb in every aspect and I consider these areas a reminder of our history.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Sangeetha Devi Dundoo / Hyderabad – June 24th, 2014

Hyderabad’s play Main Rahi Masoom goes global

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, World Opinion
The stage is set: Vinay Varma with Director Bhaskar Shewalkar. (Photo: DC)
The stage is set: Vinay Varma with Director Bhaskar Shewalkar. (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad:

Shakespeare’s phrase, ‘All the world’s a stage’, seems to be coming true for Vinay Varma, actor and director for the theatre group Sutradhar in the city. Vinay, has been invited by the Aligarh Alumni Association, Washington DC, and the Society of Friends International, London, to stage his play Main Rahi Masoom.

Talking about the inception of Main Rahi Masoom, which is based on the writer Dr Rahi Masoom Raza’s philosophy, Vinay says, “No one had ever thought of doing anything on this great unsung hero.”

Not the Aligarh University, not the Hindi film industry, not even any theatre person or filmmaker had ever attempted to pay any kind of tribute to him.And it was never an easy task. Vinay, along with the director of the play, Bhaskar Shewalkar, lights designer Dr Adesh Yadav and Sundeep Hemnaoni, had to go through a 519-page journal written by Rahi and then attend a script-writing workshop to perfect the script of the play.

“The final script is a result of a lot of churning and personal effort. At first Nadeem bhai (Rahi’s son) seemed dismissive about the whole effort. He wasn’t convinced, and mentioned that there were too many people who had tried to do something on Rahi, but their efforts never took off. But when the script was mailed to them, they were astonished with the results, and gave us a go ahead. Both Nadeem and Nayyar aunty (Rahi’s wife) gave us inputs about his personality, where and how he used to write, what and how often he smoked, and even which paan he chewed.”

Sutradhar has often exhibited works of writers like Manto, Ismat Chugtai and now, Dr Rahi Masoom Raza. But chronicling the life and times of such expansive writers is a difficult task. Vinay agrees.

“You have to live up to their reputation and do justice to their classics. Their personalities, lifestyle, thoughts, era and characters have to come across undiluted, and that is like walking on a double-edged sword.”

It goes without saying that even at the international stage, there will be no changes in the script. “Each word in the script is Rahi’s and not ours. In fact, we refused to change or modify anything in the script when the Gujarat Censor Board refused to clear it for a performance in Ahmedabad. Instead, we preferred not to perform, rather than put up a lame show. It makes sense because it is about a man who stood up to the fundamentalists on both sides of the religious divide.”

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Entertainment > TV-Music / DC / Sanchita Dash / June 24th, 2014

Music for all, all for music

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
MUSIC AND LYRICS Lazy Weekends perform at the concert Photo: Ramesh Babu
MUSIC AND LYRICS Lazy Weekends perform at the concert Photo: Ramesh Babu

The World Music Day concert offered a stage for up and coming musicians to showcase their talent, while raising a lot of questions about the city’s western music scene

This Saturday saw a huge crowd gather at Hyderabad Public School with one purpose in mind – to enjoy an evening of music. Organised by Alliance Francaise, Hyderabad, Goethe- Zentrum Hyderabad and Hyderabad Western Music Foundation, the four-hour concert covered all genres including Indian and Western classical, fusion, classic rock, acoustic and folk.

For musician Arpit Chourey, the event not only provided a stage to perform but also served as a place to meet other local artistes. “It was a great opportunity for meetings and collaborations,” he says.

“It was a good platform where I could play my original compositions unlike at a lounge,” says the artist who performs at a restaurant every Friday. Nicholas Wood, who moved to the city in April, too, the event was a great place to meet other musicians. “I was really surprised at the levcel of talents, especially of the younger musicians,” he says.

In Hyderabad, Alliance Francaise and the other organisers together have made the day about shining the limelight on new acts that are yet to enter the nascent music scene in the city. According to Pranati Khanna, who performed at a World Music Day concert three years ago, the platform is great for amateurs. Today, Pranati performs at Trident Hotel and also plays at Olive Bistro every Sunday. Like her, many other who played at World Music Day have begun taking up gigs across the city.

While we cannot ignore the generosity of HPS who hosted the event on their premises, the fact remains that the hall was not the most fitting venue for a musical performance. The poor acoustics of the venue, however, didn’t stop the audience and musicians from having a good time but it did highlights the lack of availability of good spaces for performing western music, especially when operating on a tight budget. Shruti Verma, cultural coordinator of Alliance Francaise informs that getting sponsorship for an event like this is not easy in the city.

“The difficulty is that we don’t have too many Corporates that associate themselves with music.This means, we have to compromise a bit on the quality of the event,” explains Shrutt.Pranati, who has been performing for a few years, too reveals she has a hard time finding companies that fund music concerts. She also agrees that when it comes to music, Hyderabad cannot compare to Bangalore or Delhi, a complaint voiced by many musicians here.

Initiating Hyderabad
The good news, however, is that in the last year, starting with City of M, before the year began and Reset, which took place in March to the gigs that happen in places like Lost Society and Over the Moon, we have had a few good bands from all over the country bringing their music to Hyderabad.

While these events are funded mostly by liquor manufacturers and held in exclusive venues, they are doing their bit to initiate part of the Hyderabadi into the musical culture that make a city like Bangalore a hotspot for independent musicians. Meanwhile, establishments like Coco’s, Olive Bistro and the now closed Blue Door provide space for local artistes to perform. Still, there is a lot to be learnt – by musicians, organisers and audience members – before Hyderabad can put itself on the map for original music in India and provide the right exposure for home grown talent. Save for the event at HPS and a few other classical performances in small venues across the city, World Music Day in Hyderabad went by without much noise. Chennai’s celebrations included music workshops in several schools while Bangalore had more than 50 bands perform across five venues, over two days.

Keeping in mind that the festival is built on the idea of providing free music for all, perhaps a little help from local venues and participation and coordination among local musicians might go a long way in making Fete De la Musique as it was envisioned by its creator, Maurice Fleuret with ‘music everywhere and the concert nowhere’.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Events / by Zeenab Aneez / Hyderabad – June 23rd, 2014

‘Build temple corridor to boost spiritual tourism’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

The Hindu Devalayala Parirakshana Samithi founder, Kamalananda Bharathi, has appealed to the Telangana government to build a temple corridor connecting all the temples located within 80 to 100 km radius around Hyderabad by laying a ring road to boost spiritual tourism in the State.

DivineTELAN28jun2014
Speaking to reporters after unveiling Swami Vivekananda statue at Veliminedu village of Chityal mandal here on Wednesday, Mr. Bharathi said that spiritual tourism certainly would get a boost if the State government lays such a ring road connecting all the temples.

He said Sri Lakshminarasimha Swamy devasthanam, Yadagiriguta temple, Cheruvugattu temple located near Narketpally, Kolanpaka Shiva temple, Vemulakonda temple, Vargal Saraswathi temple, Madavananda Bharathi Peetham near Gajwel, Keesara temple and many others should be brought under this corridor.

Suggesting the government to operate special buses in these areas, he said tourist packages could be offered to the visitors to highlight the rich heritage of Telangana.

Mr. Bharathi also urged the government to establish an institute of sculpture and art in Warangal. He stressed the need for setting up such institutions in Telangana to protect the art.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Nalgonda – June 26th, 2014

125 years of Salar Jung museum

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel
Salar Jung Museum turns 125. / Photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu
Salar Jung Museum turns 125. / Photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu

Hyderabadis pick their favourite exhibits at the museum and suggest improvements, including a better display and a good cafeteria.

A visit to a reputed museum would entail spending a few hours observing collections displayed across spacious galleries, getting insights into the history of the land, partaking in an ongoing event at the premises and topping it off with a fresh brew and short eats at the cafeteria.

A well-informed guide or an audio guide comes in handy for visitors who do not want to pause and read notes along the museum. While this would be possible in leading museums across the world, how many museums within India can boast of giving such an experience? As Hyderabad’s Salar Jung museum celebrates 125 years this weekend, MetroPlus attempts to gauge the merits of the museum and possible areas of improvement through a few of its visitors.

A 19th century sculpture from France, a double statue of Mephistopheles and Margaretta, made of a single block of wood is one of the attractions at the Salarjung Museum. / Photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu
A 19th century sculpture from France, a double statue of Mephistopheles and Margaretta, made of a single block of wood is one of the attractions at the Salarjung Museum. / Photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu

National treasure

“The Salar Jung museum is a national treasure and is one of the better maintained museums in the country. A hurried visit might take a few hours but someone who keenly observes the exhibits is bound to take two days,” says filmmaker Indraganti Mohanakrishna who last visited the museum a year ago with his daughter. “It’s a great place where children don’t need to be engaged with gadgets. I liked revisiting the statues, the musical clock, arms and ammunitions gallery and was glad my daughter liked the Veiled Rebecca the most, which is my personal favourite too,” he adds.

Children taking photographs of the musical alram clock at the museum. / Photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu
Children taking photographs of the musical alram clock at the museum. / Photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu

Art curator and gallery owner Avani Rao Gandra, like many Hyderabadis, visits the museum accompanying guests. She appreciates the collections that showcase India, the Middle East and Far East. “I once spent a day at the museum researching miniature paintings. Apart from hosting fantastic collections, the museum organises travelling exhibitions of interest,” she notes. While Avani feels the museum has an advantage because of its autonomy, she feels there is scope for improvement. “A month ago, I saw the elevation being spruced up. The display needs to improve as well. A gallery hosting jade collections requires a different design compared to a gallery with textile collections. Art management is significant abroad. Recently, I found a sea change at the National Museum, New Delhi, where art students volunteered as guides and the complex also has a cafeteria. Our museum too needs a good cafeteria apart from a better souvenir shop to offer a wholesome experience,” she states.

Indraganti agrees, “While visiting museums, quite often we have children or the elderly and a good cafeteria is a necessity,” he says.

French artist Beatrice de Fays rates the miniature paintings as her favourite for their precision. “I can spend hours there,” she says, also marvelling at the Veiled Rebecca.

The Veiled Rebecca, a white marble statue by Italian sculptor Giovanni Maria Benzoni. / Photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu
The Veiled Rebecca, a white marble statue by Italian sculptor Giovanni Maria Benzoni. / Photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu

The well-travelled draw comparisons between museums abroad and in India, underlining the need for museums here to evolve. Ajay Gandhi of Manthan treasures the memories of visiting the Salar Jung museum on many occasions and talks about the sculptures, costumes, crockery and cutlery of the Nizam era, arms and ammunition, but feels the museum needs something more to engage visitors. “The archaeological museum at Acropolis, Greece, for instance, had recreated an entire excavated city at its basement. We need something more, besides the exhibits,” he says.

Visitors at the museum. / Photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu
Visitors at the museum. / Photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu

Inclusive space

The Salar Jung Museum scores with its accessibility to people from different walks of life. Museologist Anita Shah who has researched extensively on how people react to museums, has in the past given several professional recommendations to make the museum a more inclusive public space. “Several recommendations were implemented. I had suggested organising events to bring in different communities and allowing them to exhibit their art,” she says. Anita lauds the ivory collections, miniature paintings, manuscripts, textile gallery, artillery gallery and the jade gallery and hopes to see the museum grow stronger.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> MetroPlus> Society / by Sangeetha Devi Dundoo / Hyderabad – June 19th, 2014

A long wait for the last two autographs to complete Sachin’s sketch

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

VenkateshTELAN19jun2014

In the last three years, Venkatesh Kandunoori and his friends have travelled to eight States with his large sketch of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and collected 98 autographs of national and international personalities on it. All that’s left are autographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. After getting these, Venkatesh plans to present the painting to President Pranab Mukherjee.

However, after spending forty days in the Capital, Venkatesh has still not got an appointment with either leader. While Mr. Modi is expected to return from Bhutan by Tuesday, Ms. Gandhi is leaving for the United States for medical treatment and will only return after three weeks.

“I started on this sketch just before the cricket World Cup in 2011. It took me six months to complete it. In the last three years, I have spent Rs. 5 lakh travelling and approaching renowned persons to sign my painting. I financed this by selling other works of mine,” Venkatesh told The Hindu .

The four-and-a-half foot portrait of the legend is surrounded by national symbols and smaller sketches of personalities linked to cricket, Sachin or the nation.

These include former cricket captains Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar, national and spiritual personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda and Sathya Sai Baba, India’s first cricket captain C.K. Nayudu, Sachin’s first coach Ramakant Achrekar, cricketers Don Bradman and Vivian Richards.

It also features the Indian Koh-i-noor Diamond on the British crown.

“This,” according to Venkatesh, “symbolises that even though we don’t have the diamond with us these people are our koh-i-noors.”

Those who autographed this epic painting include President Mukherjee, former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, social activist Anna Hazare, musicians Lata Mangeshkar and A.R. Rahman, the 2011 Indian cricket team which includes Sachin himself and film stars such as Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai.

The person who played the most hard to get so far, was Mr. Kalam. “It took me two years to get his autograph. Finally, I got it during this visit to Delhi… Travelling everywhere by train, I spent sleepless nights protecting the painting. I have done this to attract government and the public to support and fund sports,” explained Venkatesh who is currently put up with friends in Saket.

A student of the Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University in Hyderabad, Venkatesh has also created a realist statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The foot-tall brass statue, which has ‘UNITY’ embossed on its base in silver, resembles Soviet-style statues with flowing garments and chiselled expressions.

“I have already planned my next work. It will be a timeline of Indian History from 3000 BC. But first, I need these two autographs to complete a century and give it to the President. I have already spent Rs. 60,000 in Delhi. A taxi, to transport this painting to and from various offices, in order to get an appointment with the leaders, costs Rs. 2000 a day. But I won’t give up,” he told The Hindu

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> New Delhi / by Phiroze L. Vincent / New Delhi – June 16th, 2014

Actor Telangana Shakuntala dead

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Actor Telangana Shakuntala. / Wikipedia
Actor Telangana Shakuntala. / Wikipedia

Popularly known as “Swarnakka” in Tamil filmdom as she portrayed a villainous role in that name in the Vikram-starrer “Dhool”

Popular Tollywood character actress Telangana Shakuntala passed away on Saturday following a cardiac arrest at her home in Hyderabad.

The 63-year-old was rushed to a private hospital in the early hours and was declared “brought dead”, family sources said.

She is survived by two children.

Shakuntala acted in more than 70 films, including a few in Tamil, industry sources said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Cinema Plus / PTI / Hyderabad – June 14th, 2014