With over a three million titles on display, 340 stalls from leading publishers and distributors, this 10 day long Bangalore Book Festival (BBF) is open to public from 9th Nov till 15th Nov ( i.e. today) is claimed to be indias largest book festival….

Open to public from 11am till 8pm.
More photos here..

It was indeed heartening to see the enthusiastic lineup of children just before the play, and I was also impressed that Sankar’s Cafe at Ranga Shankara also has a Readng Corner for children now. Theatre and allied activities seem to be actively encouraged at Ranga Shankara and this is a great thing to see.

“Zapperdockel and the Wock” is the story of two very different creatures, Zapperdockels being small, and the Wock being a very large being. A Zapperdockel is also a crybaby.How these two interact and learn to get along is the story of the one-hour play.

Throughout the play, I was impressed by the reaction of the children in the audience (the play blurb says it’s for children “4 and above”.) A crowd of them were also invited on to the stage, and they were clearly enjoying themselves.

Virginia and Anil Kumar (I don’t know if I got the male name right, though) were the puppeteers who brough the puppets to life, and with innovative props, excecuted a variety of tricks and capers on stage that had the children constantly amused, and, occasionally, enthralled, as when they lit a flame under a plastic bag, and sent it soaring up into the air.

Walking sticks that acted as scales, hats that filled with flour, a box that opened this way and that…the props were very inventive and creative, and the rectangle described by the ropes onstage created a stage within a stage where all the action happened.

I thoroughly enjoyed the music, too; it was composed by Kumaresh of the famous violinist duo, Ganesh and Kumaresh, and sometimes consisted of purely Carnatic renditions, sometimes percussion passages, and sometimes a violin duet…it was a delight to the ear at all times.

The puppets, made by Anurupa Roy of Kat Katha, were also lovely to behold, with several Wocks taking the stage at one time, but mostly having a blue-coloured Wock iinteracting with a littleyelllow Zapperdockel.

However, I must say that perhaps I was too old for the narrative: I could not follow the thread of the story too well, and sometimes it seemed to drag. Some of the tricks on stage seemed to really have nothing at all to do with the play at all..though perhaps, with the age of the audience tragetted, no such connection was necessary. I never felt that I had got the message that Aru gave the children just prior to the show…that the play was to show how different people can get along together.

I would like to make the point, however, that young children need not always feel that magic-type tricks and slapstick comedy are the only things that comprise theatre for children; I think they are capable of appreciating more sophisticated storylines and stagecraft than what I witnessed at Ranga Shankara yesterday. Personally, I felt that the play could have been cut short to even 40 minutes, and could have done with a more predominant, sequential thread running through it. The two Sutradhars did not always seem to have a “sutra” to convey to the audience.

Ranga Shankara is putting up four more plays as part of the fifth anniversary celebrations, for more details, please visit

http://www.rangashankara.org/

All the plays have been staged before, but are being brought back by popular demand.

The proceeds of the sale will be used to promote education of underprivileged children by providing classrooms, mulitimedia education aids, salaries for teachers etc. Hosur Round Table also funds environmental projects through Kenneth Anderson Nature Society.

A primary school in Kodekarai a remote village in the Melagiris is being adopted by Hosur Round Table by sponsoring the salary of 2 teachers for a year. Thirteen class rooms have been constructed at various remote villages in the last few years and two multimedia education kits (projector, P.C and education material from classes 4 to 10) have been donated recently.

The cracker gift boxes are carefully chosen for quality and they are manufactured by Standard Fireworks. The detailed contents and prices of gift boxes are provided at the bottom of this email. The prices are the best you will get and money goes for a great cause.

Please do support this endeavor by placing your order at this link:

Order Form:

click here

Delivery can be arranged at Bangalore as far as possible at your address or at a convenient pick up point.

I request you to please forward this email to other groups, office bulletin boards, resident associations etc that you may be a part of.

For further details about the various types of firecracker boxes, contact:

Sanjeev Kumar S.R,Vice President,Kenneth Anderson Nature Society.

Mob: 09362321000

For details about the various gift boxes, click

here

Here are the names of the films which will be screened at Arathi. Water is becoming a
very crucial issue for all of us and for which we all need to be concerned
about.

Kindly make a note of the film to be screened on Saturday at 4.00pm Living
Water: In the beginning where the Directors of the film will be present and
will take up the discussion afterwards. So please come and be part of
viewing this film in large numbers.

There will also be an inauguration of the International Film Festival at
4.00pm on 4th September 2009 at Alliance Francaise. All are welcome to
attend the Inauguration.

For any further queries, contact Latha Paul, General Secretary,YWCA of Bangalore City, on

9739047011.

YWCA, Koramangala

Friday 4th September, 2009

10.30am

*Holy Water (23min/Sweden/ India)*

Dir: Lotta Ekelunnd

As the cola companies deplete and pollute the essential ground water of the
communities, strong feminine voices rise in protest. And while they are
successful in shutting down a cola plant, the film debates the larger and
ever-more-pertinent question of our age- Whose water? And to whom does it
rightfully belong?

10.50am

*A Sea Change (85min/USA)*

Dir: Barbara Ettinger

The oceans of the world are in great turmoil and in the last few years, the
waters have increasingly turned acidic, corrosive and dangerous to all forms
of life. Fearing for the near future into which his grandson and a new
generation will grow into, Sven Huseby, retired professor and all-round
jovial gentleman, sets out on a journey to uncover the roots, the effects
and the damage of the environmental catastrophe and then, towards solutions
and hope. Evocative and charged with the spirit of adventure and discovery,
‘A Sea Change’ was awarded the prestigious Dumosa Award for Best Coastal
Film.

12.15pm

*Umiaq Skin Boat (31min/Canada)*

Dir: Jobie Weetaluktuk

Umiaq Skin Boat is a beautiful and poetic 30-minute film about a group of
Inuit elders in Inukjuak, Quebec who decide one summer to build the first
traditional seal skin boat their community has seen in over 50 years. Umiaq
Skin Boat bears witness to the resilience of the Inuit spirit in rapidly
changing times.

1.00pm – 2.00pm

LUNCH

2.00pm

*Sujan Bandhu, a boatman’s journey (19min/India)*

Dir: Viplab Majumder

The river, like life, inspires us to keep moving and that is the story of
this protagonist of ‘Sujan Bandhu’. More than the documentation of his life,
the director feels it is the documentation of life itself.

2.20pm

*Chilila Bank$ (60min/India)*

Dir: Akanksha Joshi

In a canvass spread over four decades, a banyan tree, on the banks of the
lake Chilika, silently whispers tales of the lake and her fisher flock. From
the times when there was no export bazaar to the time when there may be no
lake.

3.20pm

*Woman of Dorfak (20min/Iran)*

*Dir: *Mohammad Nami

Dorfak with a height of 2705 meters is the largest crater of Iran located
east of Roodbar. The slope of the volcano is a suitable summer quarters for
the people who come from humid villages and jungles for animal husbandry. On
the top of the mountain there is no drinking spring water. The task of
providing it is entrusted to the girls and women of Dorfak.

3.40pm

*Discussion*

**

*Saturday 5th September, 2009*

12.30pm

*Jala Tarangani (12min/India)*

*Conceived & Produced by the Students & Teachers of **Christel House India**
*

Weaving notes of instruments like the flute and the guitar with the sound of
the water and the students of Christel House India learn to make music in
this delightful film and in the process discover a reason to celebrate and
care for water as a wondrous element of everyday magic and also a scarce
natural resource of immense importance for the well-being of the planet.

12.40pm

*Barren Dreams (28min/Bangladesh)*

Dir: Anwar Chowdhury

In the midst of the Jamuna, lie the conjoined islands of Patilbari-Dighalkan
di, formed as a result of erosion. ‘Barren Dreams’ evocatively and with a
quiet dignity captures the lives of the children on these islands as they go
about their daily routines. In the midst of hardship, the film locates a
certain hope in these young hearts and in that perhaps, lies a better future
for us all.

1.10pm

*Waterworks (22min/Bangladesh)*

Dir: Anwar Chowdhury

Artist Farida Zaman describes the influence of her childhood memories of
boats, fishing nets, fishes, fishermen on her life and paintings. Her
country’s rivers, the life around them and her nostalgia for peace and quiet
of the rural countryside inevitably find their way into her work.

1.30pm – 2.15pm

LUNCH

2.15pm

*Heather and Goliath (10min/USA)*

Dir: Thea Mercouffer

A rousing account of a biologist with the Army Corps of Engineers, a
satirist and a bunch of boaters stand up to the authorities, and change the
course of history for the embattled LA river.

2.30pm

*Source to Sea: The Columbian River Swim (90min/USA/Canada)*

Dir: Andy Morris

Chris Swan swam 1243miles in 13months, all across the Columbia River,
braving not just cold and exhaustion but pollution and encroachments which
threaten to turn the once thriving and glorious water body into sewage,
displacement and extinction. Andy Morris’s remarkable ‘Source to Sea’ is not
just a rousing paean to human endeavor but also spans the ancient story of a
river and the life and culture that thrives in and around it. It is through
these epic narratives that the film arrives on the essential connect between
man and the elements; one we are in the danger of forgetting. Winner of the
Best Environmental activism/ Social Justice Award and Most Inspiring
Adventure Film Award.

4.00pm

*Living Water: in the beginning (23min/India)*

Dir: Vinay Silva & Divya Bhatt

*Living Water explores the wisdom of God manifested through water. It
reflects the struggle of earth and mankind as we endeavour to understand
water, its all encompassing utility and its preservation. The film implores
that ‘Preservation is Communion’ is the key.**

**What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul
!!!!*

*(Director will be present for screening and discussion)***

4.20pm

Discussion

**

*Sunday 6th September, 2009*

12.30pm

*Deeply Superficial (26min/India)*

Dir: Veneet Raj Bagga

‘Deeply Superficial’ is the chronicle of many meanings the waters of the
river Ganga holds for the people of this diverse country. Mired in these
meanings is a strange irony- where the river is venerated as holy and pure,
the condition of its water and surroundings is tragic and full of filth. The
film seeks out the people working to save the river and implores that each
one of us can contribute our bit to retain and preserve the essence of our
rivers for generations to come.

* *

*1.00pm*

*Walk with Water (Nira Nadige) (18min/India)*

Dir: K. Murali Mohan Kati & Manjunath H.

A sobering look at the city of Bangalore in the throes of the water crisis.

**

*1.20pm – 2.00pm*

*LUNCH*

**

*2.00pm*

*Call of the Thirsty Jholapuri (54min/India)*

Dir: Nafisa Barot

In simplest of terms, ‘Call of the Thirsty Jholapuri’ spells out the need of
the hour in pursuit of a better tomorrow. Dramatizing a fable of a village
girl who completes her education and returns to her village to unite the
people in the river basin through a Prem Setu (Love Bridge), the film calls
for a more gender just, equitable, peaceful, sustainable future.

**

*3.00pm*

*Sharing Paradise (58min/USA/Indonesi a)*

Dir: Amelia Hapsari

The fishing community of the rustic Indonesian Island of Balobaloang is
facing a crisis like they have never faced before, a thoroughly modern one.
For a community that stills bides by traditional practices, their waters
have increasingly come under siege by fishermen from neighboring islands,
who even after depleting their own island’s fish reserves, continue to
engage in dynamite bombing and cyanide fishing. Director Amelia Hapsari
gathers the Balobaloang community around her and together their voices shape
the narrative and the story of ‘Sharing Paradise’.

**

*4.00pm*

*Secret Life (12min/Poland)*

Dir: Joanna Hoffmann

The video refers to the contemporary quest for life and its definition. In a
poetic way, it combines micro and macro scales, scientific images with
everyday surrounding and experiences. It touches the subject of water as a
source of life.

*4.15pm *Discussion

Here’s an announcement I got via Hasiru Usiru:

Those who want unbaked, uncoloured Ganesha vigrahams of the size that can be dissolved at home in a bucket of water and poured back to join your garden soil, can contact

3419177 or 9342303247

or email Chandra Ravikumar at

chandraravikumar@hotmail.com

Here’s an announcement I got via Hasiru Usiru:

Those who want unbaked, uncoloured Ganesha vigrahams of the size that can be dissolved at home in a bucket of water and poured back to join your garden soil, can contact

3419177 or 9342303247

or email Chandra Ravikumar at

chandraravikumar@hotmail.com

A One Day Workshop for Children ( Ages 9-14)

Ganesh Chaturthi is the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu God. As we all know, He is a very popular god in India and has become a popular symbol around the world too. Ganesha in different art forms has broken many boundaries of caste, race, religion, and nation and has found a space in many living rooms around the world. He is a favorite among the children too. The story of his birth and the variety of delicacies made on this day are enjoyable for children. Over the last few decades, there has been a considerable shift in our societies across the country from celebrating the festival in a traditional way to a more ostentatious occasion, with little regard to the socio-economic, cultural and environmental impacts.

The workshop is aimed at helping children identify the traditional and historical significance, ways in which it was celebrated in the past, the importance of the traditional foods made on this day and ways in which the festival can be celebrated without causing harm to the environment around us.

The workshop will take children through interesting stories, videos, making clay idols, learning to make traditional decorations, learning through some games and learning to take responsibility.

Workshop Date: 30th August 2009

Timings: 9.30 am -4.30 pm

Registration Fees: Rs.300/-

Venue: ESG office

Contact Details:

Environment Support Group

1572, 100 feet Outer Ring Road, Banashankari 2nd Stage, Bangalore-70

Telephone: 91-80-26713559/60/61 Email: divyarrs@esgindia.org/esg@esgindia.org

Website: www.esgindia.org

The annual mango party is back at Ranga Shankara and will be held on Saturday May 23rd from 2 PM to 6 PM. A one of its kind event in the country dedicated to the Mango, one of India’s special gifts, Mango Party is all about celebrating the mango every year in so much abundance and variety.

Keeping in tune with the Indian tradition wherein the mango is seen as a community fruit, Ranga Shankara has celebrated the Mango Party annually with great zeal involving large numbers of people. With the theatre community being in attendance one can look forward to spontaneous songs, scenes and entertainment.

This year there will also be special entertainment for children and others in the form of mango stories by Padmavati Rao, mango games, Paint-a-mango, on-the-spot story writing contests, best mango recipe (send your recipe to rstheatre@gmail.com to enter the competition) and much more.

The party is open to all. All one needs to do to enjoy the party is bring a kilo of mangoes and eat as much as one can from the pool. Ranga Shankara will strive to bring as many varieties as possible to the pool.

–
Ranga Shankara
36/2, 8th Cross
J P Nagar, II Phase
Bangalore – 560 078
P: 080-26493982 / 26592777
E: rstheatre@gmail.com
W: www.rangashankara.org

Poster: Kundun

The second – Kundun – is a 1997 film written by Melissa Mathison (at the behest of the Dalai Lama himself) and directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the life and writings of the Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet. It stars Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, a grand nephew of the Dalai Lama as the adult Dalai Lama. It traces his life in episodes from the time he was “found” to the time when he had to flee Tibet. Kundun was nominated for four Academy Awards.

The rest of the schedule is as follows:

Friday, May 15
5.30 pm, “DREAMING OF TIBET”, Will Parrinello
6.40 pm, “WINDHORSE”, Paul Wagner

Saturday, May 16
5.30 pm, “THE LOST WORLD OF TIBET”, Emma Hindley
7.10 pm, DREAMING LHASA”
8.15 pm, “LEAVING FEAR BEHIND”

Sunday, May 17
5:30 pm, “UNWINKING GAZE”, Joshua Dugdale
6:50 pm, “THE CUP: AN INSPIRING TRUE STORY”, Khyentse Norbu
7:10 pm, “H.H. The DALAI LAMA in conversation with RAJIV MEHROTRA”

Monday, May 18
8:10 pm, “TIBET’S CRY FOR FREEDOM”, Lara Damiani

Tuesday, May 19
5:30 pm, “ART IN EXILE”, Nidhi Tuli, Ashraf Abbas
6:10 pm, “DRAMGYEN: THE LUTE”, ashi Eugyalaversion
6:30 pm, “RICHARD GERE IS MY HERO”, ashi Wangchuk, Tsultrim Dorjee
8:10 pm, “UNDERCOVER TIBET”, Channel 4

CKSL also offers courses in various Buddhist meditation techniques and teachings on the various aspects of the graduated path to enlightenment. Teachings are offered free to the public and are conducted in English or in Tibetan (with translation in English). In addition to regular teachings every few weeks the Center invites senior Lamas to give talks on important aspects of the Buddhist path.

For those interested in Tibet, its history and the present day problems and issues, this is a good chance to catch a few of these films. And do pass the word around!

For more information, you can check out the The Center’s Website or call them on 080-41486497.

Brinjal, badanekayi, is the king of vegetables which comes with its own crown! This is an event that will celebrate the diversity of Brinjals and contemplate our role in protecting it.

Don’t Miss the first-ever Brinjal Festival in Bangalore

Venue: MHS Hall, Lalbagh (Double road gate)
Date/Time: April 5th Sunday, 11am – 7pm

Good Food, Healthy Food, Safe Food… should be a primary concern of all of us. The Brinjal festival is an attempt to bring a better consciousness and respect for our rich diverse food. Genetically Modified (GM) food crops pose a grave threat to the diversity and to our health as consumers. Let us all make informed choices about food, one of most fundamental necessities.

What’s in store?

* Food Stalls with brinjal specials for you to savour
* Cooking competition for innovative Brinjal dishes
* Drawing competition and more fun events for kids
* Brinjal Diversity Exhibition showcasing more than 30 varieties of brinjal
* Screening of Mahesh Bhatt’s film Poison on the Platter
* Awareness campaign about GM foods and the risk to our health and environment.
* Meet scientists, farmers, doctors and Ayurveda practitioners and some well known celebrities.

To register for competitions, visit http://bangalore.aidindia.org/cms/?q=brinjalMela.

For any queries:

E-mail: brinjalfest@gmail.com

Contact:

Sejal – 9901201279 (sejalrparikh@gmail.com)
Siddesh – 9880600840 (tosiddesh@yahoo.com)
Pulkit – 9916173750 (pulkitparikh@gmail.com)
Guru – 9845294184 (mguru.aid@gmail.com)

Organized by

Association for India’s Development (AID)- Bangalore
Sahaja Samrudha
Samvada
Jaivika Krishi Society (JKS)
Mysore Hoticulture Society (MHS)

Tickets are priced at Rs.350, and are available at Ranga Shankara,

www.rangashankara.org

2659 2777 and 26493982

and at

www.indianstage.in

Click

here

for more details

Eat like the French is a unique multi-dimensional theatrical experience, comprising of a play with food as its central axis, and a post-play food and wine tasting event to complete a tantalising experience. The play ‘12000 little pies and other delicacies’ is an adaptation from the book, The Physiology of Taste by the 19th century writer, epicure and gastronome, Brillat-Savarin.

Sustained by four greedy women, or ‘gourmandise’ from the book, the play attempts to unravel the perception of the French as a some what snobbish and high browed race and their pseudo scientific relationship with the culinary arts. The play is as much about sensuality as it is about food. The enticing narrative is peppered with vivid and humouristic descriptions of exotic recipes, their preparation, and the effect they have on the human spirit, mind and body – and is relayed through a delightful smogasbord of dialogue, costume, music, and imagery.
Set in an era when French society was moving on from the cultural and socio-political chaos and structure of the past, the play offers Brillat-Savarin’s ideas on food preparation and its role in life and philosophy. And in doing so educates the viewer about the true nature of gastronomy, which is essentially the point where food fuses with the fine arts.

The language of the play is eloquent, subtle and titillating with dollops of humour that is compatible with delicacy and promises a feast to the senses unmatched by anything an audience has experienced before.
What is distinctive about the adaptation is the oral transmission of a speech that is addressed more to the senses than the intellect, whilst always maintaining a decorous sensuality. It weighs all the elements that contribute to the pleasure of tasting and all that results from it.

Stimulating the taste buds of the audience by some savoury evocations of delicacies, the ‘gourmandes’ inspire and educate the audience about an art of living, a way to think, and a culture that seeks a greater satisfaction of the senses and the spirit. The momentum built through the play gently unfolds as a palette of feelings inherent to the pleasure of eating and inevitably leads to intimate sharing and conviviality.