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Journalism of Courage
Silk route
After having toured Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat and Chennai in the last couple of years, the All-India Silk Weavers8217; Festival came to Pune this year. The three-day extravaganza of silk and cotton saris, that began on May 7 at the S.N.D.T. College Grounds, will be open for another couple of days, courtesy public demand.
The Benaras-based Supreme Saris has been conducting exhibitions in different cities, whereby the weavers are brought into direct contact with the customers. Forty such artisans, hailing from Benaras, Bangalore, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Patna, have made their way to Pune under the aegis of the organisation. And getting along with them their hoard of Kancheevarams, Tanchois, Jamewars, Nimjaris, Patolas, Manipuri Khadi, Tussar, Chanderi8230; No wonder then that one just cannot drive past S.N.D.T. these days, what with all the excited shoppers hustling about!
It is not just Pune that sits up to listen to Dada Vaswani8217;s discourses. On May 6, at the U.N.O., New York, under the auspices of the Interfaith Centre, Dada addressed an audience that eventually gave him a standing ovation. He urged the Western world to become spiritual, for that was the only way to save the world from greater misery and destruction. After the discourse, there was a 20-minute question-answer session and Dr. Wally N8217;Dow, assistant secretary general, U.N.O., remarked that Dada8217;s teachings would ring in their hearts like a temple gong.
Inner voice
Women artists will come together on a common platform to present their expressions through colour. The Smt. Gangadevi Memorial Kala Mandir8217;s exhibition of paintings by women artists will be held from May 16 to 19 at the Rabindra Kala Kunj. This will be the fourth such exhibition to be hosted by the institution which was established in 1971. 8220;The painting exhibitions were started to encourage women artists and to allow them to expose their inner talent.8221; The exhibition will be inaugurated by artist Shobha Patki.
Of witches and whys
It is common belief or disbelief! that if you happen to be the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter in the family tree, you possess powers which are different or supernatural. Satavya Mulichi Satavi Mulgi, a play staged in Pune recently, revolves around a family involved in a movement to educate people about such myths. All goes well till the journalist husband, on a tip-off, visits the house of a witch8217; who is suspected of practising occult medicine in a posh urban locality. He incurs her wrath by writing against her, and suddenly, unforeseen tragedies come his way.
This leaves him so emotionally exhausted that he starts relating these events to the witch. While the plot tries to sustain the tension, and in the process dismisses superstitions on scientific grounds, it never really explains the witch8217; phenomenon; there certainly are events which seem to be triggered by her. Talented actors like Girish Oak and Vandana Gupte appear wasted in this effort. Occult practices sure need exploration, but putting them within a dramatic framework, at least this time round, has not too worked well.
