Man in the middle
Man in the middle
Shah Rukh Khan (in brown jacket) steps out for a break during a shoot at Jeera Mahal at Dhobi Talao, and watches the world go by much the same way as the man on the floor above is doing
Over the moon
Unrewarding?
AT the time when this season’s JLF was winding down, we had told you about how the DSC Prize was likely to be discontinued in its present form. The 2015 honour was conferred on Jhumpa Lahiri, raising questions on whether the Booker winner qualified as a ‘new’ South-Asian voice, which the award purports to be made audible. Lahiri’s win may have been a catalyst in the alleged disintegration of the $50,000 literary award, which has also been criticised for excluding exemplary works in translation. Apparently, some of the jury members were opposed to the idea of awarding Lahiri, except those from the neighbouring countries. The favourite was poet and Urdu theorist Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (The Mirror of Beauty), but evidently, the clout of the Lahiri camp was stronger.
Of dogs and diamonds
THE Mughal miniature paintings, the precious jewellery, chandeliers and furniture apart, the upcoming Pundole auction of the late Ernevaz J Dubash’s estate is a talking pointing thanks to the rare Gaitonde and Tyeb Mehta as well. Of late, several Gaitondes have surfaced at auctions, fetching handsome prices. This one, oil on canvas, is in shades of green with undertones of brown, characteristic of the celebrated abstractionist’s mature phase. Dated 1982, it is expected to fetch Rs 9 - Rs 15 crore at the auction. Dubash had directed proceeds from the auction to be donated to her parents’ charity (Soona and Pherojshaw Bolton), used specially for the education of children, and the remainder to be used for the care of the elderly. Dubash, whose family was into racing with a couple of races named after them, was also an avid dog lover and had earmarked a significant share of her wealth for animal welfare centres. While her family was more into jewellery and decorative pieces, she had put together a formidable collection of Mughal miniatures on her own. In fact the walls of her sprawling home were dotted with racing trophies, miniatures and pictures of her pets.
By the way…
THE upcoming photography exhibition at Gallery Art and Soul features Arzan Khambatta, Sona Bahadur and Ritam Banerjee’s pictures from their travels around the world. Khambatta, who has experimented with mediums and idioms all his artistic life, says it has been only three years that he has discovered the beauty and power of photography. And while he has been teasing us with fun, quirky pictures he has been clicking every day, when we asked him to pick a favourite, he looked inwards. Titled, At Peace, this photograph was shot at the Golden Temple, Amritsar. “It’s not only a visual, a feeling,” shared Khambatta with the diarist, adding, “I saw this person completely lost in his own world, inside the Golden Temple, one with the Lord with an evident look of absolute faith and devotion which I liked and captured. It is as if he has given himself up to God, and when one does that, what can possibly go wrong?” Beautiful. Not just the words.
Tailpiece
AYAN Mukerji does love to play the Santa whenever he can. Last week, when his pal Aarti Shetty turned a year older, he pulled out all the stops to ensure she had a bash to remember. While all eyes were trained on the star couple – Ranbir and Katrina- the party actually continued well onto the next day. Ayan had brought together all her non-film industry friends from the US and Europe for the celebration, besides overseeing every nittygritty of the party. After the mid-night cake cutting, the party spilled over to the next day with much singing and dancing. It’s been a few days since the party wound up, but the birthday girl still can’t stop gushing about Ayan’s special gesture.
Shah Rukh Khan (in brown jacket) steps out for a break during a shoot at Jeera Mahal at Dhobi Talao, and watches the world go by much the same way as the man on the floor above is doing
Over the moon
IN these times of OTT weddings, Abhay Maskara and Sonia Nazareth’s OTM (Over The Moon) wedding is likely to inspire more artistic and out-of-box affairs this season. The couple, that got married a day earlier at the Maskara Gallery, exchanged vows at the same venue on Sunday, basking in the light of the Pink Moon (April’s first full moon). At just the anointed time, Narendra Yadav’s installation came to life - a massive camera captured the moon in full bloom and projected the image on the floor of the gallery forming a surreal carpet for the newlyweds and guests to walk all over it. The couple, dressed in white, cut a cake and mingled with their friends and well wishers from the world of art. One saw Shireen Gandhy, Tasneem Mehta, Ashiesh Shah, Sree Goswami Banerjee, Mortimer Chatterjee Jitish and Reena Kallat, Bose Krishnamachari, Riyas Komu, Dinesh and Minal Vazirani, Sarayu Doshi, raise a toast to the newly weds, as did Abhay’s brother Subodh Maskara and sister-in-law Nandita Das. No typical wedding spread, but onion bhaji, vada pav and pakodas were paired with the free flowing champagne, even as a DJ kept the music and the conversation flowing.
Unrewarding?
AT the time when this season’s JLF was winding down, we had told you about how the DSC Prize was likely to be discontinued in its present form. The 2015 honour was conferred on Jhumpa Lahiri, raising questions on whether the Booker winner qualified as a ‘new’ South-Asian voice, which the award purports to be made audible. Lahiri’s win may have been a catalyst in the alleged disintegration of the $50,000 literary award, which has also been criticised for excluding exemplary works in translation. Apparently, some of the jury members were opposed to the idea of awarding Lahiri, except those from the neighbouring countries. The favourite was poet and Urdu theorist Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (The Mirror of Beauty), but evidently, the clout of the Lahiri camp was stronger.
Of dogs and diamonds
THE Mughal miniature paintings, the precious jewellery, chandeliers and furniture apart, the upcoming Pundole auction of the late Ernevaz J Dubash’s estate is a talking pointing thanks to the rare Gaitonde and Tyeb Mehta as well. Of late, several Gaitondes have surfaced at auctions, fetching handsome prices. This one, oil on canvas, is in shades of green with undertones of brown, characteristic of the celebrated abstractionist’s mature phase. Dated 1982, it is expected to fetch Rs 9 - Rs 15 crore at the auction. Dubash had directed proceeds from the auction to be donated to her parents’ charity (Soona and Pherojshaw Bolton), used specially for the education of children, and the remainder to be used for the care of the elderly. Dubash, whose family was into racing with a couple of races named after them, was also an avid dog lover and had earmarked a significant share of her wealth for animal welfare centres. While her family was more into jewellery and decorative pieces, she had put together a formidable collection of Mughal miniatures on her own. In fact the walls of her sprawling home were dotted with racing trophies, miniatures and pictures of her pets.
By the way…
THE upcoming photography exhibition at Gallery Art and Soul features Arzan Khambatta, Sona Bahadur and Ritam Banerjee’s pictures from their travels around the world. Khambatta, who has experimented with mediums and idioms all his artistic life, says it has been only three years that he has discovered the beauty and power of photography. And while he has been teasing us with fun, quirky pictures he has been clicking every day, when we asked him to pick a favourite, he looked inwards. Titled, At Peace, this photograph was shot at the Golden Temple, Amritsar. “It’s not only a visual, a feeling,” shared Khambatta with the diarist, adding, “I saw this person completely lost in his own world, inside the Golden Temple, one with the Lord with an evident look of absolute faith and devotion which I liked and captured. It is as if he has given himself up to God, and when one does that, what can possibly go wrong?” Beautiful. Not just the words.
Tailpiece
AYAN Mukerji does love to play the Santa whenever he can. Last week, when his pal Aarti Shetty turned a year older, he pulled out all the stops to ensure she had a bash to remember. While all eyes were trained on the star couple – Ranbir and Katrina- the party actually continued well onto the next day. Ayan had brought together all her non-film industry friends from the US and Europe for the celebration, besides overseeing every nittygritty of the party. After the mid-night cake cutting, the party spilled over to the next day with much singing and dancing. It’s been a few days since the party wound up, but the birthday girl still can’t stop gushing about Ayan’s special gesture.
