Monthly Archives: July 2014

Khaled’s role in setting stage hailed

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All

World is a stage: Theatre personality Manoj Mitra talks about his association with Khaled Chowdhury at a condolence meeting in Kolkata recently. Photo: Kathakali Nandi / The Hindu
World is a stage: Theatre personality Manoj Mitra talks about his association with Khaled Chowdhury at a condolence meeting in Kolkata recently. Photo: Kathakali Nandi / The Hindu

Khaled Chowdhury was a stage designer who had worked with Shambhu Mitra, Ajitesh Bandopadhyay, Tripti Mitra, Meghnad Bhattacharya, and Manoj Mitra

Theatre personalities congregated on Saturday evening to reminisce the role of Chiroranjan Dutta Chowdhury and his prolific works at a city auditorium.

Known to the world as Khaled Chowdhury, he passed away on April 30 this year after a prolonged illness at the age of 95. The stage designer had worked with eminent Bengali theatre personalities like Shambhu Mitra, Ajitesh Bandopadhyay, Tripti Mitra, Meghnad Bhattacharya, and Manoj Mitra.

Mr. Chowdhury was first entrusted with designing the stage for Raktakarabi written by Rabindranath Tagore and directed by Manoj Mitra in 1954.

From then on, there was no looking back for him. Some of his famous works include working for the sets of Putul Khela, Pagla Ghora, Ebong Indrajit, Dakghar, Gudia Ghar, Sarhad Par Manto and Badnam Manto, Alakanandar Putrokanya, and Mudra Rakshas.

According to Mr. Chowdhury, designing a set was not just the mere arrangement of props on stage. He believed in innovating sets and props, and blending them with artistic flavours.

Born in a village in Assam in 1919, he lost his mother when he was nine years old. His relationship with his father was stormy, often forcing him to run away from home. He ran away to Sylhet, Bangladesh, in 1936.

However, he returned to India in 1943 and settled in Kolkata on the advice of novelist Tarasankar Bandopadhyay.

“Mr. Chowdhury was a man of very firm ideals. As a result, he let go of many awards as he felt they were against his policies. He had strong opinions and refused to budge from them. This led to him being misunderstood as an arrogant person. But those close to him knew his true nature,” veteran theatre personality Manoj Mitra said.

Apart from stage designing, Mr. Chowdhury had designed almost 4,500 book covers and folders for various theatre groups.

He also took interest in music and had composed several songs on the lines of folk music.

Pradip Dutta, one of his close aides, rued the lack of documentary preservation of Mr. Chowdhury’s works.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Kathakali Nandi / Kolkata – July 01st, 2014

World tour for Hooghly’s bamboo pandal

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Travel

Kolkata :

A Kartik Puja pandal that a city-based architect had created for a local club in Bansberia, Hooghly, has caught the attention of a prestigious museum in the US. The pandal will now be showcased in six cities across the world as part of a travelling exhibition on megacities.

The Kartik Puja pandal at Bansberia
The Kartik Puja pandal at Bansberia

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, considered among the most influential museum of modern art in the world, has acquired the publication rights of the image of the bamboo temple pavilion that architect Abin Chaudhuri had created in Bansberia. The colourful installation will feature in MoMA’s upcoming publication and exhibition titled ‘Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanism for Expanding Megacities’.

The exhibition explores new architectural possibilities to address rapid and uneven growth around the globe and will be on view at MoMA, New York from November 2014 to May 2015. The exhibition will also travel to Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Hong Kong and Lagos.

Chaudhuri, whose design studio has created landmark buildings like the International Management Institute in Kolkata and IMI Bhubaneswar, School of Planning and Architecture in Bhopal and Kazi Nazrul Museum or Nazrul Tirtha in New Town, is delighted at the honour. “The selection of our work by MoMA for its prestigious publication came to us as a pleasant surprise. Being showcased in its exhibition or in the publication is a dream come true for the contemporary architect and artist fraternity,” remarked the principal and design director of Abin Design Studio (ADS).

The bamboo pavilion had earlier won the Black Elephant award indicating the ‘best of show’ entry at the first edition of the 2013 Kyoorius Awards in Goa. In the UK, the pavilion was in the top-five best installation art at the Apex award.

What had impressed the award juries and officials at MoMA is the thought that went into creating a pandal with locally available materials that would not only create an attractive pavilion but also be useful thereafter.

In fact, it was the need to fence a football field that led to the selection of bamboo poles as material of choice for the pandal. Kartik Puja is celebrated with fanfare in Bansberia.

“We run a small football camp at Bansberia. Every monsoon, water would flood the field and then cows and buffaloes would trample and damage the soft ground. Fencing is an expensive affair. So we decided to use bamboo for pavilion so that they can later be used to fence the ground,” Chaudhuri explained.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / July 01st, 2014

Kolkata blind daredevils scale 16,000 feet

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Kolkata :

Months before Chhanda Gayen attempted her double climb at Kanchenjungha, a team of mountaineers from the city quietly accomplished a daring feat that is no less stunning. Eleven blind climbers scaled 16,000 feet at the Yunam peak in Himachal Pradesh last September, arguably the tallest climb by a group of individuals with disability in India. While four of these climbers have partial vision, the rest are totally blind. The team plans to improve upon the feat by summiting the Nandaja peak in Garhwal later this year.

Even though they don’t have the power of vision, which could be a crippling disadvantage in any climbing expedition, each of the team members are trained in mountaineering. A few of them had even trekked in the eastern Himalayas before embarking on the daring adventure. They took the assistance of guides and were led by a large group of climbers, but made the journey on their own steam, putting their climbing skills to the sternest test.

Unfortunately, the expedition had to end 4,000 feet short of the Yunam peak as the last leg was considered too risky for the group. “We were progressing steadily, though it was getting tougher. Eventually, the weather came in the way and we had to give up. We were all very disappointed for we believed we could make it,” said Dolly Dutta, one of the blind climbers. The expedition started from Chandigarh, with the team reaching Rohtang Pass via Manali. It then made its way to Tandi and then Kelong and Jispa, where a training session was held for the members. The team then reached Bara-lacha la Pass. “We had our base camp in Bharatpur and were ready to travel the last lap. But it was snowing heavily and the tracks got treacherous. So, the seniors advised us against making an attempt to summit. We had to travel back, but it was still a breathtaking experience,” recalled 31-year-old Dolly, who lost her vision 15 years ago. While the challenged climbers – four of whom were women – were not allowed to proceed, three of the rest made it to the Yunam summit.

PHOTO

Lack of experience and difficulty in acclimatizing to the extremely low temperature prevented the group from making the attempt, said Raja Abhimannyu, a member of Voice of World, an NGO that organized the expedition. “It’s not easy to get used to the snowfall and the inclement weather. Without the aid of vision, you need experience and skill to negotiate the treacherous climb to the top. Even though very brave and skillful, the team lacked experience. So, we thought it wise to advise them against it,” said Abhimannyu.

But the climbers are itching to return to the Himalayas and summit a peak. Piyali Hansda, another climber, said she was ready for the dash to the top. “It wasn’t easy but every minute was a thrill. Our adrenalin was pumped up and we were raring to go. But the snow made it a little difficult. This experience has toughened us and prepared us for more difficult terrain,” she said. The other challenged members of the team were Bilwa Mangal Sardar, Pappu Das, Tutu Bera and Ritika Khan.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / July 01st, 2014