Pune Citygritty

Two’s company
The walls of the Shyam Ahuja Gallery come alive again – this time with the works of two city painters – Buwa Shete and Ulhas Gawade.

Shete’s series, with the eponymous title of `Mother and Child’, depict the subjects in various moods – care, domination, playfulness and devotion. And are supposedly a take-off from the painter’s emotional memories of his rustic childhood scenes. The strong sense of his colour schemes in reds and browns and the large sizes of the canvases lend an element of the theatrical to his work.

Ulhas Gawade’s work is done in acrylic on canvas and called `Shelter’. The artist has captured architectural images and highlighted the play of space with light, shadow and tones. Also prominent is his experimentation with colour schemes.

Hosted by Surabhi Nag of Nag Foundation, the exhibition will be on display till May 31.

A tall tale of woe
“It is an injustice and we are going to fight against it.” For Pravin Nayak and the four members of his team, what should have been a matter of pride – entry into The Limca Book of Records 1998 for the largest sky lantern in India – has become one of bitter disappointment. “The entry fails to mention our individual names or the number of people involved.

Instead, only the name of our group, the United Artists Group, has been mentioned. However, in the case of other feats achieved by groups, the book mentions each individual involved,” he says.

On July 23 last year, Nayak, Ashok Gajman, Sushil Manjre, Rahul Raut and Nitin Dhanve started to make the largest sky lantern which they completed five days later. The members filled out the form for an entry to the record book, specifying their feat and mentioning individual names. “We have approached our legal advisors in this matter. We will now try to gain entry into The Guinness Book of World Records by making a 40-feet-high sky lantern. We think they will be more careful,” says an unhappy Nayak. This tall claim is for real.

This one’s for you, Jim!
From Day tripper to Riders on the Storm…last Friday, it was the Beatles and this Friday, it’s the turn of The Doors, whose numbers will set the evening afire at Jaws. Playing songs by the group on May 22 will be Airwave, with Sudheer Gaikwad on the guitar and vocals, Roger Dragonette on the bass, Sanjay Joseph and Derek Julian on the lead and Darren Pillay on the drums.

Light My Fire, L A Woman, Roadhouse Blues and other classics are sure to make the evening a special one (incidentally, the session has been dedicated to Jim Morrison). As for the other details – entrance is free, the atmosphere promises to be charged and the time is 7.30 pm. So, go for it.

The art of living
A woman’s face alive with subtle emotions, a group of women dressed in the vibrant colours of Rajasthan huddling together, a blue-tinged whirlpool with a glimmer of light. These paintings by artist Maninder Kahlon will be on display at the Inn Galleria this weekend. Titled `The Spectrum of Life’, these oil paintings with their fluid lines, pulsating colours and the play of light and shade will be put up during the Mewar Food Festival at the Holiday Inn.

For Maninder, who holds a post-graduate degree in fine arts, painting has been an abiding interest. “Human figures are easy to identify with, bring any painting alive and contribute to the spectrum of life,” says this artist who held her first Pune exhibition last December. Besides oil paintings on canvas, she has also painted on silk and ceramic. “Through these paintings, I have tried to convey the various facets of life,” she says. Art buffs will agree.
(Contributed by Vinita, Sunanda, Vivek and Aishwarya)