Look no further

The Chandigarh Theatre Festival,which will be on at Tagore Theatre,will see four plays,including the classic comedy ‘Shatranj Ke Mohre’,which is the longest running play of Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA),Mumbai and has recently completed 38 successful years of production. An interesting mix of themes,the festival by the Chandigarh Administration starting September 25,will have Vijay Tendulkar’s ‘Massage’,Ajay Shukla’s ‘Taj Mehal Ka Tender’,Rakesh Bedi’s ‘Biwi O Biwi’. While ‘Taj Mehal…’ is a take on the rampant corruption in our country,‘Biwi O Biwi’,an IPTA Mumbai presentation has been running successfully to packed houses for the last five years and deals with a man-woman relationship,infidelity,and has been both written and directed by TV star Rakesh Bedi. The story of a common man looking to realize his dreams in the city of Mumbai,his ups and downs,relationships…is ‘Massage’,while ‘Shatranj Ke Mohre’ is the call of the conscience.

With a thought to bring art to the general public,some former students of the Government College of Art are working to organize the city’s first Art Expo at Centra Mall. “We want to get back to art and the fraternity,’’ smiles Rakesh Sharma,who passed out from the college in ‘92 and now has an ad agency in Delhi. Pawan Soni,who’s a creative director in Mumbai,feels that as most exhibitions happen either in galleries or museums,and are mostly by invite,the general public never gets to get up,close and personal with painting,sculpture,photography,graphic design,architecture. “The idea to have this expo at a mall is to cater to any one who walks in and develop interest in art,’’ adds Pawan,who says any one is free to participate in the expo with an original work. Starting September 19,the Expo,add the two is a tribute to their teachers and fraternity. Noted artists from the city have confirmed their participation and according to Soni,they hope to make the expo an annual feature,to provide a platform to budding artists. “What’s more,the expo will give us a chance to connect with art and also be back in a city,where we spent the golden years of our life,’’ adds Rakesh.

A journey into the mesmerizing world of the Nihangs is a photography exhibition by Gurbir Singh Brar,titled ‘The Valiant Ones’. After capturing the lifestyle of traditional societies around the world,Brar spent as many as eight months with the Nihangs unraveling their mystique and the highlights on the exhibition,starting on September 17 at Guru Gobind Singh College for Women,Sector 26. What’s more,there will be a scintillating display of shastar vidya and horsemanship by various Nihang Dals. Keep watching…