Mysore seen thru kaleidoscope of colours, words

Rain-stained walls, cracked windows, creeper-hugging pillars, crumbling steps, rusty gates, desolated and littered gardens, houses that seem to tremble beneath the burden of the past, either engulfed in assorted weeds or standing isolated like a lone warrior struggling to hold back the adversary called time, buildings that seem lonely at the outset but whisper secrets about the long-gone dwellers when you go near... they beckon you to visit them and revisit them on the pages of this digest titled 'between Mysore & Mysooru.'
The coffee table book, with poems on the left and cityscapes on the facing page, is not a book to be read, but one to be enjoyed and contemplated upon.
The verses penned by artist and art curator Shoaib Chadkhan, who has brought out the book, create a world intermixed with innocence and maturity towards life and its happenings. The unedited verses, though seem unrefined at first glance, stays in one's mind long after the page has been turned. Reading between the lines becomes easier with the simple words which carry profound meaning when seen through the eyes of a Mysorean.
The poems say it all; about the feeling of belonging to a place, considering that place as one's own even when it is inhabited by lakhs of other strangers, the onslaught of bland modern housing style -- apartments -- replacing quaint old houses with their own architectural beauty and the blinding of the city's walls with ugly, gaudy posters, the vanishing of emotional value about one's place which have been replaced by material value...
New-age artists like H.K. Vishwanath, Sujan Ghosh, Vishwanath Kondlighatta Hiriyanna, Dhanashree Gadiyar, Kavyashri Shastry, R. Shiva Kumar Rangaiah, M. Chandrakala, B. Brahmanand, Smitha Ningaraj, Yogananda Lakshmaiah, H.S. Vinay, Ambika Shankar, P. Anil Chandran, Shoaib Chadkhan, Manoj Guddekuppa Sripadamurthy, Sharath Kumar, Deborah Stromberg, A.M. Swamy, Mahesh B. Lingaiah, H.G. Kumar Gowrav, Shaitan Singh, H.S. Suresh, Bharath Kumar, Akhilanka, K.J. Pavan, C.S. Vijay Kumar and N. Punith have travelled across the city, searching for the houses which may not have been declared heritage but carry the legacy of the city in them.
The collection is an artistic documentation of a heritage city which, in a quest for development, loses its identity and becomes as mundane as the next city and the next... as seen across the land after advertisements, hoardings, buying and selling gained more space in a city than the basic necessities. When seen through the kaleidoscope of colours and words, the book seems to come to life and begs to be considered in terms of conserving the heritage of this royal city.
Though the efforts of the artists are quite appreciable, the book would have helped old-timers and the young generation who are unfamiliar with the serene beauty of old Mysore, their purpose would have been served better if the paintings carried the titles of the buildings and places alongside to identify them and reminisce on their history. Some browsers, who try to find correlation between the poems and the art on the opposite page, remain disappointed as both do not have any connection whatsoever, apart from a joint mission to protect the heritage of Mysooru.
However, the book is an artistic journey back in time through well-known and hidden landmarks of the city like Ashoka road, Sayyaji Rao road, Doddagadiyaara, Free Mason’s Building opposite Town Hall, Chikkagadiyara (Dufferin Clock tower), Seetavilasa Choultry on Chamaraja Double road, the dilapidated quarters near Nallappa Thana on Dewan’s road, the road that leads to Jaganmohan Palace, bungalow where former President late Prof. S.Radhakrishnan lived...
Hope the artists succeed, considering the poem in the book which is a dialectic on itself:
"isn't it funny
that
anything over a hundred years old
is considered old
it is like a psychological benchmark that got crossed."

A romantic rendezvous with Mysore architecture

Words may mean different things to different people. However, images open up a whole new dimension. When artists create images, then the mind registers them better. "between Mysore & Mysooru" is one such set of images, impressions and words.
The book, authored by art curator Shoaib Chadkhan, will be released by veteran journalist Krishna Vattam at a function to be held tomorrow at Art Dissemination, No.11, Opp. Bal Bhavan, Bannimantap in city at 5.30 pm. MLA Tanveer Sait will inaugurate. An exhibition of a group of paintings published in the book will be launched by K.R. Ramakrishna, Commissioner, Dept. of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage on the occasion.
Usually a book or an exhibition on a town includes the history of the place. But here, the author and the artists do not believe in writing about the history of Mysore. This coffee-table book by art curator Shoaib Chadkhan is an artistic documentation of a heritage city through the eyes of artists. He says though the title would suggest a Mysore story, it is, however, the story of many places across the land; places which are in a quest for development. The book is also about how we evolve to the things and experiences around us.
The 80-page book is a fictional story of the curator's own life depicted through Haiku-type poems — it is a romantic rendezvous with the architecture of Mysore and the artists here.
The book is quite a 'page-stopper' as the reader, who after contemplating on the beautiful poems, sets his eyes on the paintings and gets captured by the aesthetics in the paintings, quite forgetting to turn the page and move on.
It is a journey which started in 2009 when the author stayed at the India Song House in Vonti-koppal, a quaint old house that had a history of being a creative space with hosting of exhibitions like Abstract Perception & Contemporary Cows at Crossroads.
The house was sold by their owners to a firm from Bangalore who in all likelihood had seen it more as a real estate investment rather than the heritage that the house held, says Chadkhan.
Yogananda, a young city artist, was keen on creating a painting of this house. Chadkhan used the painting to put up a story on internet. The response that it evoked was huge and quite emotional. A lot of people were concerned about the way beautiful spaces like these were being treated. It was there that an understanding of the romanticism took place, the melancholi-ness and all the feelings that a painting could evoke was bro-ught forth. This led to a quest for more such buildings and to use this type of imagery to create a subtle but powerful way of re-introducing sense of aesthetic and thus go about preserving them.
The making of this book has changed how these artists and their friends see a building today, says Chadkhan, adding that now they see it as a life form in itself.
Totally, 30 contemporary artists  of Mysore have created 70 paintings of Mysore in their varied forms and styles and about 50 of these paintings will be exhibited in the show.
If one artist has painted in monochrome, then another artist has made the house become a subject for a stamp. Hence there was a need to photograph them, have artists make portraits of these houses, make a book, make a film and document it in some form.
The landscape paintings, which are vivid both in colours and black & white, portray the places the artists have explored and painted, often with rich metaphorical possibilities. These artists have used the paint medium to raise awareness on conservation concerns. The series of paintings capture a changing Mysore, which is falling prey to changes in time and the inevitable urbanisation.
The heritage Mysore that has a unique identity, has been revisited by the artists with a tinge of nostalgia and raises the question of introducing a policy to conserve the heritage of the city for future. The 'Tropical Architecture' of Mysore homes with typical Mysore roof tiles, sloping roofs, chajjas, wooden trellis work and solid wrought iron grills, have been recreated by the artists to show the signature look of the city, says Suresh Jayaram in his critique in the book.
The author says T.P Issar's book 'Mysore the royal city' helped in reiterating the belief that most paintings have a stronger emotional quotient than photos. The poems have been penned by Shoaib with an earnestness to create a little world through words and images.
Though the inauguration is by invitation only, the painting exhibition will be open to the public from May 19 to 25 between 10.30 am and 7.30 pm at the same venue. The book is priced at Rs.3,000 and will be available on a discounted price during the show at Rs.2,400.
After Mysore, the exhibition will move on to Venkatappa Art Gallery in Bangalore.

Shoonya, A Timeless Wisdom

There is no reason as to why the rivers flow or the mountains remain stationary. There is no rationale as to why only birds fly and humans do not. There is no purpose as to why there is a universe in itself under the sea... thus the book 'Shoonya: An Abyss of Absolute Timelessness' is introduced to the readers.
No, this is not a science book which answers queries regarding the workings of the universe but is of a higher realm and goes into the workings of God, life and its myriad emotions and the ways to deal with them.
The author of the book, Sreesha Belakvaadi, tries in his simple English to find answers to these and many other questions regarding existence, meditation, faith, destiny, consciousness, silence, security, ego, love...
His chapters, which he discloses in the Preface to be e-mails of mere thoughts and experiences shared with his friends, start with quotes and reflections which are elaborated and explained with examples and stories in some cases. Each chapter opens up unwritten answers to questions which most of us would have wondered briefly at some point of our lives. Some answers are predictable while others manage to surprise the rea-ders with the author's deep insight. Sreesha Belakvaadi has coalesced each topic so well that the reader gets the gist of the topic.
As one goes on reading the book, however, it seems familiar. Then you recognise it — the flow, the words and the way a topic is presented is similar to that of Osho Rajneesh, who seems to have influenced the author to a certain extent, as acknowledged by the author himself.
"Intellectuality must stem from humility. The moment the mind acknowledges that you are an intellectual, the very purpose of it is defeated," says Sreesha Belakvaadi in the chapter 'A true intellectual is unaware he is one,' expatiating that an intellectual is always in a state of folded hands and bowed head to the wonder life throws at him. This chapter makes us realise that the very purpose of intellect has been defeated in modern 'intellectuals.'
The write-up 'Children are the closest reflection of Godhood' seems a cliche and gets repeated in another chapter 'Being childlike is the greatest human trait' where he says as we grow, we start losing our innocence, our childlike attitude towards life.
Two more thoughts of Sreesha Belakvaadi which are worthy of mentioning here are — 'Women & existence mirror each other,' which speaks about male and female psyche and 'Silence is an absolute symbol of the divine' where he says that wisdom dawns in the silence between myriad thoughts which flow in and out of human mind, which is akin to a continuous chatter-box — a delight to the reader.
The tranquil thoughts that flow from one brief piece to the next makes the reader easily nod with agreement.
However, for those of us mere mortals living in this practical world where each decision taken every minute necessitates a dependence on practicality, some of Sreesha Belakvaadi's philosophical thoughts seem utopian and unachievable.
The book is a must read for those philosophically-inclined, meditative beings who wish to find their own thoughts reflected in the pleasantly designed book of 54 chapters. The author sees Godliness in simple things around us and the reader may expect to see the same once they finish the collection of reflections.

Guru of Mysore Traditional Art teaches painting

He is an exemplary Guru, akin to the keystone to Mysore traditional style of painting. Though frail and ripe with age, Ramanarasaiah, who was the Palace artist, enthusiastically carries on with the guru-shishya tradition.
About 35 enthusiasts, mostly women, are learning the indigenous art of Mysore traditional painting under the 91-year-old artist and his daughter-in-law Suma Krishna at the painting workshop being held at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), Wellington House on Irwin Road in city.
The workshop, which will conclude on Apr. 24, is being conducted under the 'Do & Learn' series programme of IGRMS.
Some of the participants expressed their happiness with Star of Mysore about being taught by the maestro and said that they came to the workshop after coming to know that they will be taught Mysore painting by Ramanarasaiah.
The finer nuances of painting taught by Ramanarasaiah never fail to astonish those present. Even in old age, his memory has the clarity to recall the compositions of each colour, their Kann-ada names which most of the present generation are unaware of and the mixing of colours to get another colour etc. He says in earlier days, they used only natural colours extracted from fruits, vegetables, leaves, barks, minerals and other natural substances. Brushes were made of different materials like squirrel, camel and goat hair. Grass blades were also used to draw sharp lines.
The artist recalls that earlier, people who were enthusiastic about art but had no materials to practise on, used even newspapers after painting them white.
Mysore style of painting evolved under the patronage of the rulers of Mysore. The traditional artists prepared all materials required for painting like brushes, paints, board, gold foil etc., unlike the present day artists who get them readymade from shops. Then they painstakingly prepared their sketch and painted on them. Mostly religious topics like Rama Pattabhisheka, or Gods and Goddesses like Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Krishna, Eshwara, Gayatri etc., were the subjects of paintings, with the favourite being Lakshmi, according to the participants of the workshop Asharani, Poornima Jaga-dish and Hemalatha Raju.
Ramanarasaiah's paintings are exhibited in Jaganmohan Palace, of which he was the curator, and at Amba Vilas Palace. He is famous for his portrayal of Wadiyar family members of late 18th and 9th centuries.
He says he learnt Mysore school painting under his Guru Keshavaiah, who was also the Palace artist. The Wadiyar family painting in Jaganmohan Palace took him nearly two years to complete. So far, he has spread the fragrance of Mysore paintings everywhere in the land through about 500 disciples. His three children out of eight took up the task of propagating the renowned art in various places — daughters Sudha Venkatesh in Bangalore & Chandrika Pa-manabhan in Mysore, son S.N. Simha in Coimbatore and daughter-in-law Suma Krishna in Mysore. The nonagenarian has been honoured with many awards, the recent being the M.T.V. Acharya award. Suma Krishna may be contacted on Mob: 9739548643.

ALL FINE ART FORMS HAVE A GAMUT OF THEATRE IN THEM, SAYS DR. R. PURNIMA

Stepping into many shoes and suceeding in it is not everybody's cup of tea. It comes naturally to some persons while others will have to first find their true interests and then cross many hurdles to fulfil them in their own way.
Dr. R. Purnima, Chairperson, Department of Studies and Research in English, Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) and Founder of Children's Literary Club, apart from being an academician, has also donned many roles in her life — as a teacher, researcher, guide, singer, instrumentalist, Kathak dancer, a mentor for underprivileged kids and a writer. However, the field that is closest to her heart is theatre. The versatile academician spoke to Star of Mysore on her varied interests:
Shwetha Halambi: You have been doing a great service to kids through your Children's Literary Club. What made you start the Club?
Dr. Purnima: One day 21 years ago, I watched my niece playing a game again and again in the house for the whole day. Watching that for a whole day, I thought I should engage this child in something interesting. I started the Club with my niece and her neighbour kid. Then I started tapping on the doors of people's homes and asked them to bring their kids to me. The Club is a 100% voluntary organisation. I brought together kids of maids, underprivileged, slum-dwellers, etc., and engaged them in cultural and literary activities. When we wish to do something, we should have no ego. If we think that people should come to us, any venture is bound to fail. These kids are so much into theatre activities. I teach them songs at the end of every session and they love it. I encourage them to come out and speak without fear or hesitation. Now, if there is no theatre component or singing at the end, they feel the session is incomplete.
At first, I gave a topic to the kids to discuss, act etc. Later, the interests and subjects taken up branched off. Whether in music, dance or any other field, creativity evolves when a straight line starts bending.
Shwetha: Why do you go to their doorsteps?
Dr. Purnima: If such kids are asked to come to Kalamandira or Rangayana to learn, they cannot. It is because they have their own limitations and also because when they are kept away from their world, either they don't develop a taste for art or those who live in a privileged world or have access to such a world, say underprivileged kids are good for nothing. People fail to realise that maybe the kids too may have an inclination towards arts. Hence I strongly believe in taking things to their doorsteps. Once again, if we have to do good to somebody, we should never nurture an ego. Once when my photo came in the newspaper, one of the kids asked me, "Miss, this news is about Children's Club. Hence the photo of children should be published. Why is your photo published in the paper?" I felt this was the height of my success — when the kids don't hesitate to ask such questions.
Shwetha: Where do you conduct the Club programmes?
Dr. Purnima: When I began the Club, my target was to conduct 100 programmes at my home. Then it rose to 1,000. Then I thought I would stop conducting programmes at home and started visiting SC/ST hostels, areas of underprivileged kids, slums etc. I conduct literary programmes not just in Mysore, but also in Sringeri, Sullia, Chikkamagalur and other places. In Mysore, I go to Suruchi Rangamane for story-telling, with Pratham Mysore to children beyond the portals of my Club.
I had arranged a campus tour for the low-profile kids of Bharathi Sthree Samaja to KSOU some six months ago. My intention was, since this is an Open University, people come from all strata of life — married, working, aged — and I wanted the kids to know that in case they cannot continue studies, there is an opportunity for them to study.
Shwetha: You were awarded the Fulbright Fellowship and you chose to do research on "Empowering young lives through arts: The role of theatre in America." Why did you choose that subject?
Dr. Purnima: I teach English at KSOU, but I am also interested in fine arts. I founded Children's Literary Club in Mysore 21 years ago. Then a thought entered my mind that I should evolve different strategies to educate kids because at the Club, I was handling children from different strata of society like underprivileged kids, school dropouts etc. I wondered what the problem was with the education system in the land and how to address it, in what manner and methods. Then I thought fine art was the one field through which we can tackle the issue. In all the fine art forms that I have covered in the articles of my book "Sharing Experiences...," there is a gamut of theatre in it.
I not only teach students the prescribed text in the class but also enact the characters of the story. For example, I myself enacted the character of Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's play Macbeth in the classroom while teaching the play.
When my sister Prof. R. Indira (Sociology Department, Manasagangotri) went to a village in Australia, she met a nun who said she was a student of KSOU English Department. When Prof. Indira mentioned that her sister teaches there, the nun immediately exclaimed, "Oh, is it Lady Macbeth?"
Theatre has that potency to create that indelible impression on the students' mind. And if you make them participate in the classroom, they can never forget it. So when I applied for Fulbright, I decided to walk out of pure literature and do something related to literature. And since I was working with kids in Mysore and experimenting with children and theatre, I decided to choose that subject for research.
Shwetha: What did you discern from your experience in USA?
Dr. Purnima: Though connecting to people in America was a bit difficult at first, I gradually succeeded in it. When we work intensely and with commitment, people will surely recognise our work. I thought I should do something to connect both the societies. I started approaching people for their views and in the book "Sharing Experiences...." Many people ranging from 13 years to 90 years of age have contributed their perspectives. I approached youngsters because I believe in next generation voices. We do some work, but how will the beneficiaries accept it? We may have done a fabulous job, but what does the second generation feel about it? I needed answers to these questions.
Shwetha: You have been a teacher for 39 years. What do you love about teaching?
Dr. Purnima: I love the learning part of teaching. If you are a real teacher, you are always learning. It is a continuous commitment to learning and sharing what you have learnt. And society needs committed teachers. I have always been satisfied with my work. During contact classes of KSOU, I take extra events to students and after the classes, I try to identify the talents in students by making them enact dramas, sing, dance, English speaking hour etc., and I too participate in it.
Shwetha: You have done Ph.D on the "Concept of the ‘Fallen Woman': A Study of the novels of Hawthorne, Flaubert, Hardy and Karanth" under Jnanpith laureate Dr.U.R. Ananthamurthy. Who is the 'fallen woman' in your view?
Dr. Purnima: According to me, 'fallen woman' is the one who has crossed the boundaries set by society. For the research, I took up 'The Scarlet Letter' (Nathaniel Hawthorne), Tess, Maimanagala Suliyalli. Fallen woman is the woman who has stepped out of the institution of marriage. Manjula from Karanth's book, who is a sex worker, Scarlet Letter's Hester Prynne feature in my thesis. The novels deal with failed marriages, where the lovers become husbands and husbands fail to remain so, due to varied reasons. These women wish to show that they too have an identity.
Shwetha: What do you feel is the impact of drama on kids' minds?
Dr. Purnima: I will give you an example. Once when I was walking down the road near my home, I heard some kids calling out 'Miss.' I thought they were calling somebody else and kept walking. But they all ran upto me and said, "We are 'chitte manushyas' miss," and started reeling off dialogues from the drama. Then I recognised them as kids from an orphanage in city whom I had taught the drama some three-four years ago. This is the potency of drama and see how it gets internalised.
If you are enacting a drama in class, it makes a great difference to student clientele. Though we teach superbly in classrooms, it is hard to engage students. But drama and such creative events create an interest in kids. Parents who visit my Club with their kids would pressurise and prompt kids to answer my questions as they take it as their failure if their kid fails to answer. I suggested them not to pressurise kids as their behaviour itself was contributing to the child's failure.
Shwetha: What other activities do you engage yourself in?
Dr. Purnima: Theatre in education is the best way to teach. The year 2010 was the death centenary year of O'Henry, Leo Tolstoy and Mark Twain. I conducted programmes based on the three authors for higher education students. I made the students enact O'Henry's stories by making the script, which made them realise how difficult it was to write a script. The students said they enjoyed the creative class which was a new experience for them. They came to realise that a story can also be converted to script and brought on stage.
In KSOU this year, I framed 20 questions under the title "What is common?" I took up Nehru's autobiography and Khaidigala Kathana (by Ganesh Amingada). Research students come to us asking for topics. I ask them to attempt giving their own point of view.
February is commemorated as 'Celebrating February as the Month of International Languages.' As part of it, I took up programmes both in the Children's Club and KSOU. I created a chart of countries and their official languages, apart from a quiz for students. KSOU Vice-Chancellor Prof. K.S. Rangappa too participated in the quiz. He asked the participants which language starts with the letter 'Q.' No one knew. But when I went to the KSOU Study Centre in Udupi, I visited a govt. college in a village for a special event. I conducted the same programme there and was astonished to see a village girl answering that question. She said the answer was Quechua, a Peruvian language. When I asked for her source, she said she had read it in Peru Yatre, a book by Nemichandra. This is where reading habit gets you. When I couldn't get the answer in so many urban locales but got in a village, why should we underestimate village children?
This is Charles Dickens' bicentenary year. I conducted various events in the Club and also for MA students. Then I came to know that Dickens had written a play. I requested Dr.C. Naganna to write a poem on Dickens in English. He obliged. The poem was translated by himself to Kannada and I read it out in the class. I also asked a student from Sringeri to translate a chapter of Dickens' Hard Times and read it aloud. Such events can be conducted by other organisations also.
[Dr. Purnima was awarded the Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship in 2009-10 by the Fulbright Foundation and conducted research in the University of Texas, USA. Dr. Purnima has the distinction of being the only KSOU teacher to be awarded the Fellowship. She has edited a book titled Sharing Experiences: Varied Voices, a collection of articles on fine arts and theatre by the young and old.
Founder of Children's Literary Club about 21 years ago, Dr. R. Purnima has been conducting literary and cultural programmes to underprivileged kids of the city. For her endeavour, she has been awarded the Karnataka Nataka Academy award for achievers in Mysore district last year.]

'Shivaratri' propounds Basavanna's ideals: A review

A thing which we do not need, even if it is wealth, is akin to stone; when there is no equality between the work done and the pay received, it is corruption..." thus spring up pearls of wisdom from the lips of a sex worker, who was greatly influenced by Basavanna's philo-sophy, in the play 'Shivaratri,' invi-ting wide applause from audience.
"If gold is valued by the upper caste, the working class values the soil. Desires and temptations surround gold and to get it, vile acts are carried out; but commo-ners surround soil and here, work gains importance," propounds the play written by Jnanpith awardee Dr. Chandrashekar Kambara.

Pic. by Hampa Nagaraj

'Shivaratri' was staged by the artistes of city-based Nirantara Foundation last evening at the University Fine Arts College under the direction of renowned theatre director Chidambararao Jambe. The play, though started late, pleasantly surprised the audience with the entry, or more appropriately, rising of the village deity of Kalyana in flowing robes encompassing the stage. The two men on the sides of the stage swaying throughout the play added to the intrigue.
The drama starts with Shiva Sharana Mugda Sangaiah sear-ching for the house of a sex wor-ker Savantri, to worship Lord Shiva with Kamakshi, also a sex worker. It gains interest with the entry of King Bijjala to Savantri's house seeking Kamakshi's company, only to find Sangaiah worshipping Shivalinga on the bed. The theft of an expensive pearl chain from Bijjala's palace and its subsequent finding its way to Savantri's house through Sangaiah runs parallel to the meeting of Bijjala and his former Minister Basavanna at Savantri's house and their dialogue on Sharana philosophy and Bijjala's follies.
The story flows smoothly without any hiccups, and gives a different dimension to Kalyana, portraying the continuing struggle to eradicate caste system and accept Basavanna's philosophy wholeheartedly by all, irrespective of their vocation and beliefs.
The presentation of the play was quite appealing to the audience, but the audibility of the dialogues was less in the back of the theatre. The play saw a huge response with tickets being sold out and extra chairs put up for the public. Dr. Chandrashekara Kambara's presence delighted the audience who did not expect to see the Jnanpith awardee himself. The Foundation needs to take up more such experiments, so that Mysoreans get a chance to watch good plays.
The play gives rise to two valid questions: Is Basavanna's philosophy forgotten by his very followers, as there seems to be no end to casteism and obstacles to inter-caste marriages even now? Are Basavanna's ideals lost?

A Mother's 'Special Effect' on Mentally Disabled Kids

Someone once said, a good mother is worth hundreds of school teachers. Rearing a child is an endeavour which needs immense patience and love. And who else is better at it than a mother? But even most mothers, when they find out that their child is not among the 'normal' ones, lose heart and get depressed. They tend to think that God has punished them with a mentally or physically challenged child and that it is now their fate to suffer. Most parents do not stop to think that though their child is not 'normal,' he or she may be 'special', with abilities different than the normal ones. It is rather refreshing to find a mother who thinks that her child is indeed 'special' and discovers love through that 'special' child.

Anuradha Nandakumar, wife of city-based builder M.S. Nandakumar, has two children — son Nishanth and daughter Nimisha. Being the mother of a mentally challenged son, she decided to work for the empowerment of such children, teach them innovatively, train them in vocational courses and get them economically independent to an extent by helping them get jobs.
In order to support the parents of such special children, Anuradha founded the Mysore District Parents' Association for Empowering Developmentally Disabled (MDPAEDD) in the city, which works from the Namana Kala Mantapa building on 2nd Cross, Krishnamurthypuram. With a view to create interest about arts in the mentally challenged, this down-to-earth achiever also provides Namana Kala Mantapa, which she owns, without any rent to the organisations helping mentally challenged to conduct various programmes including drama, singing and yoga.
Anuradha's achievements do not stop here. She has also served as the Past President of Spoorthi, the Ladies Wing of Builders' Association of India (BAI), Mysore Centre.
When I caught up with Anuradha, she spoke about her experience of raising a special child and her aspirations towards rehabilitating the children and supporting their parents. Excerpts:
Shwetha: What was your experience as the mother of a mentally challenged child?
Anuradha Nandakumar: When I came to know that my son was mentally challenged, I was initially depressed, but only for some time. Then I thought spending my life in depression was of no use and I had to look after my child and bring out his talents in a positive way. I took him to Chetana Trust for Mentally Disabled. There we taught the children letters, words and colour concepts. They were taught their letters and words musically, sounds of animals and other basic syllabus, mainly through phonetics. A new syllabus was created and circulated among all mothers. It was such fun, innovating new things for the kids to do, creating new ideas... all parents were together and it mattered a lot. What was the next step to be taken towards teaching them was always on our minds. We always had something different to do because they were not run-of-the-mill children. They don't do most activities that normal kids do. So we had to keep inventing new concepts and that's what kept us going.
Shwetha: Where did your son study?
Anuradha: Chetana Trust guided us in all our steps. He studied pre-nursery, LKG and UKG in play home and then at Mahabodhi School. However, after 4th standard, we stopped taking him to school because we felt academic pursuit in normal lines was not suited for him. So he started going only to Chetana. Mathematical concepts were introduced there along with time concept. Even today he is so perfectly punctual that none of us has that kind of discipline. Our relatives and friends call him the 'Time keeper to the nation' like the famous HMT slogan. Today, all children of the parents who were the first members of MDPAEDD are grown up. They are aged 26, 30, 32 years etc., but they are very much together.
Shwetha: Is there any incident that saddened you most?
Anuradha: I will tell you one incident that happened when my son was young. I used to take him to school in bus everyday. One day, playful that he was, he refused to get down the bus at our stop as he fell in love with bus travel. I was coaxing him to get down when the bus conductor started shouting, "Why do you have to bring 'such' children in bus to trouble us?" Everybody in the bus started staring at us. That day, the conductor's behaviour saddened me. Then my husband decided that he would buy me a scooter to take our son to school.
Shwetha: How does your daughter Nimisha cope up with her 'special' brother?
Anuradha: She is so co-operative and mature for her age. All the siblings of such kids are mature. They learn the societal pulses and they feel it quickly. She was so matured that even in childhood, the childishness was absent. Even when we elders lose patience, she corrects us and comes to her brother's rescue saying "Mama, don't scold him like that." The siblings of such kids have that special kind of affection. My daughter is so motherly with her sibling that she started taking care of her parents too along with her sibling. We feel so proud of them. It's all because of that 'special' effect...
Shwetha: Most organisations that work for the cause of mentally challenged, just teach them but don't think about rehabilitating them by providing jobs. You have successfully taken up the rehabilitation work and are providing jobs to special children. What is your inspiration?
Anuradha: Yes, in most organisations there are prevocational and vocational courses for special kids. Then one fine day in 1999, the National Trust Act came into existence which declared no child will stay in any pre-vocational or vocational centre for more than six years. After that they have to be taken out of that place— either placed or engaged in an income-generating activity. When there was a demand to repeal the Act, we appealed to the government not to do so. I thought there would be no future for special children if they were just taught a vocational course.
Anuradha Nandakumar: A profile
Anuradha Nandakumar, 48, is a Rehabilitator under Rehabilitation Council of India, Social Activist in psychiatric social work. She has volunteered as a teacher in Chethana Trust for Mentally Ill & Handicapped and as Counsellor in Police Helpline. Apart from this, she is the former President of Inner Wheel Club of Mysore Midtown. She is the Director of Namana Creations, Founder of Saadhya, an empowerment project for dignity of special-needs citizens and Vice-President of Parivaar Karnataka, State Federation of Parents’ Associations.
Not just social work, Anuradha is also active in sports, screen-printing, theatre and many more such activities.
She has bagged the International Woman of the Year award-2008 given by the International Women’s Guild, Anu Spandana award-2011 by Inner Wheel Club of Mysore Midtown, KSOU award for working in the area of special education.
Anuradha has produced audio cassettes on — Rhymes on colours, animals, sounds, tables etc. for 5-year-olds; 'Shringara Bhaava' in DVG’s book 'Antahpura Geetegalu' etc. apart from films and documentaries "Munnota," "Nenapina Nauke" — a documentary on H.L.N.Simha, "Nail Polish" — a short film for children; "Chaavadi" — a talk show on Law of Land v/s Law of Nature etc., and has also acted in numerous plays.

An artist's quest from Greece to Mysore

Artists around the world are known to embark on quests to find an expression to their creativity and this may lead them to any corner of the world. One such artist whose quest brought him from the creative lanes of Greece to the sawdust-covered floors of Mysore's workshops is Eric Sakellaropoulos. His company Intarsia India, which began as a mere idea in Eric's mind 15 years ago, has now gained fame around the country for its intricate and conceptual wood inlay works. Intarsia India, now located in Bannimantap 'A' Layout, has its office near Ashoka Circle.

Eric Sakellaropoulos' creations have adorned the interiors of homes and offices of reputed industrialists and elites of the country including the Bajaj family in Pune, Preeti Ambani, President of Harmony Art Foundation and cousin of Anil Ambani, JK Tyres, Mamta Singhania and the like. SOM met Eric,  who has designed the interiors of buildings in Lonavala, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai etc., with his beautiful intarsia works, at his Mysore office. Excerpts:
Shwetha: Where did your journey into the world of intarsia begin?
Eric Sakellaropoulos: My journey into the artistic world of marquetry or intarsia began in Greece. Born to Greek and French parents, I have lived in Greece, France and Canada before coming to India. I worked as the Assistant Curator from 1984 to 1988 at the Jewish Museum in Athens under Nikos Stavroulakis, who had collected more than 12,000 Jewish artefacts that reflected the history of Jewish people in Greece. Here I built seven permanent exhibition rooms and was also involved in conservation of embroidery and brocades. It was in this museum that I got involved in architectural design and furniture-making.
I learnt marquetry or intarsia wood inlay by working in my roommate's workshop in Athens. I later visited various workshops in Cairo, Barcelona and Indonesia, apart from Borobodur in Cambodia and Ajanta caves in India. In 1989, I left Greece and settled down in Montreal, Canada. Here I designed interior spaces, bars, restaurants etc., one of my well-known work being the wall panelling of the theological chapel at McGill which won me the American Institute for Architects Award. I also taught vocational training in wood working including marquetry and furniture design.
Shwetha: Tell us about your quest for intarsia artists in India.
Eric: In 1996, I came to Anegundi in Hampi with the purpose of setting up a design centre. There I found intarsia pictures in tourist shops but couldn't get proper information out of the sellers or tourist shop owners about the raw materials for creating wood inlay products. My quest for real artisans who had created inlay works took me on an empty trip around Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Fed up with lack of information and non-cooperation of artisans, I reached Mysore and in "the most beautiful city in all of South India" I found an end to my quest. [Eric says, when he saw the intarsia work in Mysore, he said to himself, "Ha, it's here."]
Shwetha: What happened when you reached Mysore and found your quest for intarsia artistes ended here?
Eric: Finally realising that intarsia or marquetry products found elsewhere in tourist places were originally done by the Mysore's artisans, for two weeks I knocked on every possible door in the city seeking help in finding the artisans who did the work. Many shopkeepers did not assist me as they considered their sources private and did not like intervention from a foreigner. I finally found an opportunity to work directly with the craftsmen and learnt about local wood species. Eventually I opened my own workshop with the help of Hunsur Plywoods and Mahendra Hardware.
Shwetha: Tell us about intarsia's survival in Mysore.
Eric: Mysore is one of the few places left in the world where intarsia is still being created traditionally. There are about 1,500 artisans in Mandi Mohalla and Bannimantap who still use the same techniques used some centuries ago. Though intarsia here is mainly based on religious carvings, nowadays intricately designed furniture and architectural pieces with other art forms too have surfaced.
The Mysore artisans should evolve according to changed times. They should emerge out of their cocoons of traditional art to reach a wider network with good quality wood work.
Shwetha: What are you future plans for the development of the art?
Eric: My company Intarsia India employs 20 staff. With a view to include women in the craft, I conducted training workshops about eight or nine times for women. But most of the trainees left at the finishing stage due to family problems. Not deterred by this, I still hope to bring women artisans to the fore by training them as they are efficient and hard-working.
I believe that craftsmanship in Mysore is stagnant as there is a tendency to separate fine arts from technology as is being done at Chamaraja Technical Institute (CTI) and Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA). CTI and CAVA should be intermingling and the artists of CAVA should in fact be at CTI learning hands-on craftsmanship and those of CTI upstairs at CAVA library, studying finer nuances of fine arts. The fine arts students should not think it is below them to learn wood cutting and other basic works necessary for sculpting, inlaying.
When Japan can merge modern with the traditional styles and market their products successfully, even the Indian artisans, especially those in Mysore, should think of changing their styles.
Shwetha: What is your next step?
Eric: My next step is to start a school for training craftsmen, including more number of women in the city. I have been struggling since many years for govt. aid but gave up, tired of bureaucratic hurdles. The school will train the artisans from the scratch — wood cutting to the polished end product.
Now, I am mooting to convert my company into a Private Limited so that the artisans who work there will also own a piece of the company.
Mysore is perhaps the only place in the world that plays hosts to a community of artisans who have been engaged in creating pictorial marquetry with the same techniques that were employed during Renaissance.
It is ironic that this intarsia art is being preserved not by our ignorant government or by local art enthusiasts, but by a foreigner.
[Eric may be contacted on Mob:98804-39882].

GOLDSMITHS: A VANISHING TRIBE

A visit to any temple in India reveals a wealth of sculptures with intricately carved jewellery. It is evident from these sculptures that Indians have been fond of gold jewellery since thousands of years. The intricacies of the designs even on stone figurines show the craftsmanship of not only the sculptor but also that of the goldsmiths of that era from whose jewellery the sculptors may have derived inspiration. Not just sculptures, but ancient seals and paintings too reveal a wealth of ornate jewellery designs of those times. The craftsmen were proficient not just in creating gold jewellery but also in setting precious stones, ivory, pearls in gold.
Mysore has its own niche of artisans who have spent their lifetime creating gold ornaments. This Weekend Star Supplement takes a walk through the bylanes of Kurubarageri which has been home to hundreds of goldsmiths since ages.

A walk along goldsmith lane

A jewellery is worn as an adornment, a symbol of societal status and also as a talisman on any part of the body. And while admiring the beauty of the yellow metal and the designs etched on it, most of us never stop to give a thought to the hands behind the beautiful and delicate designs.
Traditionally, people in the country have invested at least a portion of their savings in jewellery as both investment and for their womenfolk. Gold has been, and will remain, the main criteria for both beauty and wealth and Indian artisans are skilled in making exquisite jewellery pieces.
Sleepy cities like Mysore in which people mostly went to small gold artisans (or akkasaligas in Kannada) for getting jewellery made as per their choice, have now begun looking towards glittering jewellery showrooms and well-known brands.
A walk through the bylanes of Ashoka Road in city brings this reality to the fore. The once-busy roads are now forlorn, with most shops of goldsmiths closed down permanently and the new generation unwilling to take up the work, moving on to other jobs.
Many goldsmiths of the area whose families have been engaged in jewellery making since many years, say that nowadays they get orders for jewellery making mostly from jewellery shops. The habit of people visiting their workshops for ordering their custom-made jewellery has lessened and only those who have been coming since many years continue to do so.
Explaining the procedure they follow in making jewellery, Dhananjaya, whose family is in the business since 60 years, said the steps include filing, soldering, forging (beating and hammering into desired shape), casting and polishing the finished product.
They get flattened pieces of gold which they put into moulds or design with hand, painstakingly carving required designs into the malleable gold which has been hardened by adding copper. It is to their credit that the goldsmiths, after years of working, attain a skill much better than the precision machinery, and that too with just their hands and eyes.
Well into his ripe age, Janardhan, who has been making gold jewellery since he was about 14 years of age, said though the advent of machinery has affected their livelihood, it is insignificant as most machines are expensive and many jewellery shops, except the big companies, couldn't afford them. Such shops depend on the goldsmiths to fulfill their orders.
When asked if youngsters are learning the trade, he said that goldsmithing is a skill which is best learnt when young.
It takes about six to seven years to learn the basics of the delicate art and many more years to acquire expertise. Earlier, young boys would come to learn the trade and now, after the Child Labour (Prohibition) Act came into effect, the goldsmiths cannot employ young-sters at their shops. Hence nowadays, no youngsters are showing up to learn the art, he says adding that it is not an art which could be learnt by adults, who normally lack the patience much needed for the work.
Expressing doubts about the future of goldsmithing, Janardhan said the dwindling interest to learn the trade is a natural process, though it is regrettable that this is already resulting in the vanishing of the art.
When asked about the jewellery making courses offered by the colleges, he said though many youngsters are joining the course which is quite modern with the use of machines, it will never come on par with the traditional art learnt under goldsmiths. This is because the colleges teach only a part of the trade in the course.
The graduates who come out of the colleges cannot take up the business of making jewellery independently as they would lack the skill required for other processes. They would either have to join a big company or workshop or will have to collaborate with other artisans, he added.
Parthiv, another artisan who employs six men for show work or embedding precious stones into jewellery after it is cast and designed, says though gold jewellery can be made even with the help of machines, the next step, that is fastening stones into jewellery, has to be done by hand.
Allam, an artisan who gives a final and glittering touch to gold ornaments by polishing them, seems busy with his work giving gold glitter to a silver anklet (gejje) through electroplating. About 15 years of polishing ornaments has not managed to wipe off the smile from his face as he explains polishing procedure using nitric acid and cyanide.
The goldsmithing art may be vanishing, but there is still hope in the hearts of the artisans who toil night and day to make ends meet. Their efforts and fine skills are however, rendered unackn-owledged by the people as glitt-ering showrooms of more fam-ous jewellery brands mask the humble workshops of artisans.

'Singing is my passion': Lakshmi Nataraj

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song, said poetess and actress Maya Angelou describing the happiness found in singing. Many singers sing just for the joy it brings to them, as opposed to some to whom singing is just a profession as another. The young and versatile singer Lakshmi Nataraj, to whom Mysore is the mother-town, is one among the former class of vocalists who discovered that music was her passion and a part of life.

Lakshmi receiving the Best Female Upcoming Singer (2010) award from film actress Nidhi Subbaiah and other guests during the Mirchi Music Awards ceremony in Chennai recently.

Those who have watched ETV's noted music programme Ede Thumbi Haaduvenu would remember hearing the musical voice of two sisters who made both the judges and the connoi-sseurs sit up and take notice — Lakshmi and Indu Nagaraj — in 2005. But then, many did not know that the sisters would not only win the contest but also go on to make their indelible mark in the hearts of music-lovers. The older among the two, Lakshmi, was recently honoured with the State award in Best Playback Singer category for the song 'Omkara' in the film Aptharakshaka.
Lakshmi is the daughter of city's renowned vocalist and flau-tist Vidwan C.A. Nagaraj. Growing up surrounded by music, she and her sister Indu started learning music when they were as young as three years of age. Lakshmi and Indu, also known as Chilkunda Sisters after their birthplace Chilkunda in Mysore district, had their initial training in music from their grandmother late Vidushi C.S. Satyalakshmi, who was a vocalist, violinist and a flautist and later under their father Vid. Nagaraj, who is serving as a lecturer in English Department at Maharani's PU College. Their mother H.S. Radha is also a vocalist.
Now married to Nataraj and residing in Bangalore, Lakshmi, who is a graduate in B.Sc. (Microbiology), gave her first concert in 1995 in Gundlupet when she was 7 years of age along with Indu who was 5 years.
She has since traversed long distances in music by giving more than 300 concerts in the State, apart from places outside Karnataka like Delhi, Cochin, Madhurai, Kerala etc. Lakshmi has captured the imaginations of audiences at Doordarshan, Suvarna TV, Udaya TV, Akashavani also. Back home, she has enthralled the Mysore Dasara audience on the inaugural day at the Durbar Hall of Mysore Palace, apart from performing at the Bangalore Habba. Presently, Lakshmi is a 'B' High Grade artiste for All India Radio.
Apart from the State award and Ede Thumbi Haaduvenu prize, Lakshmi has been honoured with the MSIL Gaayaki Award in 2002 Nityotsava competitions telecast in Bangalore DD; natio-nal-level Youth Music Fest from AIR; State-level Kishora Prathibhe Award in Karnatak classical music from Govt. of Karnataka.
She bagged first prize and gold medal in two consecutive years (2002 & 2003) in State-level Karnatak music contest held in Kundapura by Sangeetha Bharati Trust. She has also won the first prize in All India Inter-University Music Contest held at Kolhapur, Maharashtra.
She came into limelight once again when she emerged as the winner of Confident Star Singer contest organised by Suvarna Channel in 2009, for which she received an apartment worth Rs.40 lakh in Bangalore as prize.
The same year, she was honoured with Aryabhata national award for her achievements in Karnatak music field.
Lakshmi's laurels do not end here. Being a canorous singer, Lakshmi has performed with stalwarts like L.R. Eshwari, P.B. Srinivas, Dr. S.P. Balasubramanyam, C. Ashwath, Ratnamala Prakash and B.R. Chaya.
With her voice and singing prowess enrapturing not just the public but also music directors of Kannada film industry, Lakshmi entered the glamorous world of silver screen, though staying behind the screen, and has sung under the music direction of Hamsaleka, Guru Kiran, Mano Murthy for films 'Meera Madhava Raghava,' Tata Birla, Goutham, Manasare, Aptharakshaka etc.
When SOM asked Lakshmi about the encouragement she received from the veteran singers on and off stage, she said that singing with old-timers was an entirely different experience. She could not forget the praise she received from P.B. Srinivas, she added with a smile.
On her ambitions in the Sandalwood, Lakshmi steadfastly said her passion was singing and she would stick to playback singing and stay away from acting, though the industry offered a lot of encouragement.
Expecting a set answer given by all Kannada singers that Kannada film industry was importing more singers from Bollywood and other States for singing Kannada songs thus discouraging local talents, it was a pleasant surprise to hear from Lakshmi that Kannada singers were not being put on a back-burner but were instead getting good opportunities in Sandalwood.