Articles by Deepthi Sarma

There is joy in making delicate terracotta jewellery or ceramic utility pots. Though pottery is a profession for a few, it is more often one of the most enjoyable hobbies today. “You can be an adult and still play with clay”, says Pavan Sathya of gopni.com who is in his mid 30's. Gopni.com is an organisation for pottery enthusiasts, which conducts pottery and ceramic art classes as well as provides firing and kiln support and related activities. Sathya, who has been a professional potter for over 4 years says it a viable profession provided you have the right contacts and…

From avid book lovers to light readers, the Bangalore Book Fest is catering to all types of visitors. Children's books seemed to be the most popular genre and almost two thirds of the books displayed are meant for junior readers. Navya M Gowda, all of four and a half, seemed extremely thrilled with her copy of “Clifford’s Loose Tooth” from Scholastic. Pic: Deepti Sarma. The festival has been on full swing at Palace Grounds, from November 6th when it was inaugurated by Rastrakavi Shivarudrappa. With over 350 stalls, the festival is slated to end on Sunday November 15th. In 2008, 10…

Dasara or Navarathri is celebrated by different communities in different ways. In Bangalore, many families celebrate Gombe Habba (festival of dolls) by arranging dolls, new and old. This is also called bombe koorisodu, bombe kolus, bommala kolu, and the dolls are usually made of clay or wood, and nowadays with Plaster of Paris (PoP). The tradition has passed on from generation to generation, and is accompanied by a variety of customs, pujas, story-telling and food. Tableaux depicting a scene from Ramayana, created by Soumya Srikanth. Pic: Deepti Sarma. Patronised by the Mysore maharajas, and with a large number of doll…

Traditional board games in India have been a major source of entertainment for many generations now. Even though still popular in some parts of the country, games of this kind are soon losing out to computer games and electronic gadgets among the urban middle class. In an attempt of reviving these traditional games, Kavade, a toy store based in Seshadripuram, organised a traditional board games tournament on the 25th and 26th of July, 2009. A Kavade volunteer helping participants with the rules. Pic: Deepti Sarma Sreeranjini GS, an ardent lover of traditional games, had founded Kavade earlier this year. Kavade…

Bangalore witnessed the first event of its kind in India on the 14th of June, a duathlon! Runners for Life (RFL), an organisation dedicated to runners and running, partnered with Ride a Cycle foundation, a non-profit organization which encourages cycling as a form of recreation, sport and a means to commute to work. A duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg. First leg of the duathlon (pic: DS) Many of the city’s seasoned as well as first time runners along with cyclists were gathered at the…

On 18th April 2009, World Heritage Day, Bangalore City projects – a Bengaluru based group that aims to raise awareness about arts and culture in the city, organised some events, one of which was a heritage hunt. Conducted in three places, this hunt was aimed at throwing light on places of heritage in and around one’s neighbourhood. I took part in the Gavipuram vernacular heritage hunt. The teams gathered at Basavangudi Bull Temple around 3 PM. Very soon, the quiet temple premises were filled with fervour and talk as the teams registered at Rs 50 per person. We were all…

It was that time of the year again when Bangalore geared up to be a proud host of what is known as Asia’s premier air show! The Yelahanka air force station was decked up for Aero India 2009 from 11th February to 15th February. Defence Minister Mr. A K Antony declared Aero India 2009 open and also announced that the next Aero India will be held on 9th to 13th February, 2011. The inaugural site was house full with over 50 delegations including air chiefs, air marshals and generals from the airforces of US, UK, Germany, Sweden, Myanmar and other…

The Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishat is hosting an exhibition of selected collages, oil paintings and writings of late Dr. Venkatraman Balu, artist and peace activist, from December 26 to 30. Eminent poet and MLC Chandrashekara Kambara inaugurated the exhibition and released Peaceful Images, a special book on Dr. V Balu. The book is a visual feast, and presents a collage of his work and its impact on people. It is a compilation of articles, artifacts, tributes and reactions that provide an overview of Dr. Balu’s personality. Peace from the horse's mouth: art by Venkatraman BaluThis exhibition saw 60 of his…

Few know that the Bandstand in Cubbon park was the hub of cultural activities in Bangalore in the 60's. The likes of Ilaiyaraaja had performed there. After a long gap Prakruthi, a non-profit organisation run by the duo M S Prasad and Praveen D Rao, took it upon itself to bring Kannada and its musical legacy back into the limelight, and revive the magic of bandstand and Cubbon park. The revival started on 5th October this year and many musical recitals and shows have been held there every Sunday between 5 and 7 PM since then. Performances by popular Kannada…

An interesting photographic exhibition is on from 3rd October to 15th November at Café Fresco’s on Cunningham Road. Titled ‘Stone Theater’, the exhibition displays photographs of a different kind by Magali Couffon de Trevros. These beautiful images not retouched or reframed, but just printed on aluminum sheets. It is hard to believe that these are photographs of stones, sand and water bodies around them and the aluminum sheets add to the earthy effect of the theme.Magali is French by origin, and has been in Bangalore for about 6 years and in India for 15 years. Trained as a graphic designer,…