A corporate lawyer attempts to figure out the arts If youre a bathroom singer with a booming baritone,step out right now. If youre an actor practising dialogues on an empty rooftop,come downstairs. If youre a dancer in front of a mirror,step in front of a stage. As long as you have the talent in your chosen field,Percival Billimoria will give you a stage to perform. On Friday night,in not-so-far-away Chhatarpur,Billimoria,39,one of Delhis prominent attorneys unveiled the Amateur Performers Bureau: Connoisseur of Art and Artiste (APB),which has taken on the task of discovering,identifying and providing an appropriate platform to launch novel talents,in any and every form of art. The APB is a non-profit body that will not accept grants or donations from absolutely anybody, clarifies Billimoria,firmly. Those who benefit from it will,hopefully,enable it to become a self-sustaining operation with the profits of every production funding the expenses of the next. Billimoria has floated the organisation in fond remembrance of his friends who he lost in the Mumbai terror attacks a few months ago. I lost two close friends at The Oberoi during the siege,after which I realized how fleeting life is. I dont want to die before doing things I really want to,and I really want to do something for the arts, adds Billimoria. After the attacks,Billimoria,who identifies himself as a Bombay boy,followed the stories of the families of the victims and wanted to make substantial financial contributions to them. Whatever money is generated from the APB projects will be sent to victims of the Mumbai attacks. But the focus still remains on showcasing talent, he asserts. The Bureau has already signed up its first lot of artists,namely author Omair Ahmad and amateur photographer Rakesh Singh. While Penguin India has just published Ahmads The Storytellers Tale,a novella set in 1700s Delhi,Singh is an amateur photographer at Triveni Kala Sangam. Art should not be an exclusive affair,it should reflect life, says Ahmad,34,who is also a part of the APBs maiden venture,a production of Neil Simons play,Sunshine Boys. The play was chosen because it has both,the potential for comedy as well as layers of human emotions of people who like one another but cannot really admit it, says Ahmad. The play will be staged at India Habitat Centre on April 10.Contact: 24682001
