Word Is Out

Thursday night at Rang Bhavan would have resuscitated even the most sceptic of Bombay's aural explorers. A rastafarian hip hop artist, a s...

Thursday night at Rang Bhavan would have resuscitated even the most sceptic of Bombay8217;s aural explorers. A rastafarian hip hop artist, a sitar, a Zulu vocalist, and a tabalchi from the DHOL Foundation 8212; came together under the banner of TransGlobal Underground. An inimitable blend of electronic beats, ambient waves and world instrumentation, the multi-cultural, masterfully eclectic TGU gave Mumbai a taste of never-heard-before sound. Formed in the early 8217;90s, before the Asian vibe scene was even conceived, it was Nation Records 8212; the company that first signed Talvin Singh 8212; that was the indirect cause of the group8217;s formation.

Morphing anything and everything from Indian classical, Arabic rhythms, and African beats to reggae, dub, hip hop, bhangra and eighties pop, the genre-less concoction seems to defy logic, weaving together the most disparate of sounds. How do the players retain fludity in such a haphazard process? quot;On a good night the sounds will take off by themselves, really, it8217;s about getting into the right rhythmical groove. The music8217;s essentially a celebration of rhythms.quot; But is there a political message in this rhythmic fusion of cultures? quot;There was a lot of talk sometime ago in the British media about multiculturalism in music, its unifying potential and all that, which is great to a certain extent, but basically we just want to make people dance.quot; Something they without a doubt manage to achieve, five albums later and 10 years on. Get the picture? Well, if you missed the concert check out TGU8217;s latest record, Backpacking On The Graves of Our Ancestors available at music stores in the city. Or you could loginto T-G-U.com

Mapping Art

Eight experts on Thai art have come together to offer an interesting and elaborate insight into the art that has flourished in Thailand over the last two millennia. In a book called Art from Thailand a MARG publication, the curious art lover is provided a fresh perspective to an area that is both contentious and revisionist. And it does so by taking a close look at different eras in the cultural history of Thailand as well as the influences and trends that shaped it. Touching areas as diverse, yet related, as the coins and medals of Dvaravati, Vishnu images from ancient ? and Khmer architecture, it8217;s more than a coffee table book. Attractive images of the Buddha in stone as well as bronze dominate the pictures, reflecting the rich tradition of Buddhism that Thailand inherited from as early as 6th Century BC.

But above all, the book talks of a confluence of a variety of cultures 8212; people and their practices, that can be grouped by characterstics of language, religion, place and objects. The cultures are vast, often confusing, but are related to each other, the experts affirm. This, coupled with an impressive presentation, makes the sale price of Rs 1,950 well worth it.

Ad Libbing

The ABBY 2000 function was a gathering of the intelligent and the stylish. From photographer Raghu Rai to ad man Kiran Khalap to designer Preeti Vyas Gianneti and fashion designer Hemant Trevedi, the NSCI grounds at Worli were packed to the hilt, on Thursday evening. The ceremony flagged off with a dramatic entry by Tom Alter, dressed as a Navy captain. His fellow compere for the evening was former Miss India Manpreet Brar, dressed in a rather gawdy costume.

While the duo compered last year8217;s awards too, this year they were rather too contrived 8212; ending up no different from any of the over-the-top hosts we get to see on music channels. However, the focus of the audience8217;s attention was the awards and not the anchors 8212; and in that area justice was done. With the highlight of the evening being the Century Awards. To be presented by Alyque Padamsee, the ad guru loomed larger than life through a big screen.

The ex-Lintas head honcho could not be in Mumbai as he was in Delhi that evening collecting a Padmashri from the President of India. Instead, two rather unusual and unexpected faces made an appearance on stage. The original Liril girl, Karen Lunel, and the quot;I-love-you, Rasnaquot; girl 8212; dressed up like glam dolls. And guess who they gave away the awards to? Oamp;M, of course. The ad agency bagged the gold in the Campaign of the Century category for their Cadbury Diary Milk chocolate ad as well as the silver, for the Fevicol campaign.

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Others who made their way onstage included veteran radio man Amin Sayani for the Radio Advertising award of the Century, for Binaca Geet Mala

. Chaitra Leo Burnett, Contract, Trikaya Grey and Enterprise Nexus were among the other agencies to collect awards. But it seemed that Piyush Pandey and his team burnt a track on the carpet given the number of times they made their way to the stage.

The stars of the evening, with the maximum number of golds, the Oamp;M team popped a bottle of champagne on stage, when they heard they had even walked off with the Campaign of the Century award. The agency bagged both the gold and the silver in the Campaign of the Year category as well, for Kelvinator Refrigerators and Hide amp; Seek Biscuits. The evening, the awards, the crowds and the comperes seemed to have belonged to this Ranjan Kapur-headed agency since everyone around kept on harping about the fact that O amp; M was the best 8212; much to the annoyance of those who lost out.