Mushairas, folk art and some Shakespeare to enliven your weekend

A few cultural recommendations await you this weekend

 

DELHI
Festival
For the love of Urdu: Rekhta Foundation, a New Delhi-based non-profit, is hosting Jashn-e-Rekhta, a two-day festival in the city. Organised in collaboration with India International Centre (IIC), the festival aims to showcase the various facets of Urdu through live performances, recitations, dastangoi, musical renditions (ghazals and qawwalis), mushaira, drama, panel discussions, film screenings and interactive sessions. A simultaneous outdoor fete will feature book exhibitions, calligraphic art and street plays. 
When: March 14-15, for the full schedule of events, visit www.jashnerekhta.org
Where: India International Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi

Art
For the love of handloom: Delhi Craft Councils is presenting the "Kairi Exhibition and Sale of Textiles for Summer" this week. Stock up for the summer months from a beautiful collection of fabrics (from ikat to maheshwari), sarees and dupattas.
Where: Hall 6, Aga Khan Hall, Bhagwan Das Road, New Delhi
When: March 11 to 14, 11 am to 7 pm





Music
Soulful melodies: Club Patio is bringing an evening of Mehfil-e-Qawwali with Nizami Bandhu. Comprising Ustad Chand Nizami, Shadab Faridi Nizami and Shorabh Faridi Nizami, the band is best-known for the song Kun Faya Kun from the movie Rockstar.
When: March 14, 7.30 pm
Where: Club Patio, Gurgaon, South City, Gurgaon

Music and Dance
A festival of folk arts: Organised by Impresario India, the National Festival Of Creative Arts returns with its 17th edition. The three-day event will see performances of various Indian art forms. Retelling of Abhimanyu Vadh in the Pandavani style (lyrical form of Chattisgarh folk tale) by Sima Ghosh and Merry Acharya, followed by a dance production of Mahabharata by Manish Mitra. Visually challenged artists of Mysore Nagaraj’s Articulate Ability will be performing a Bharatanatyam, folk and ritual dance piece with motifs of martial arts and acrobatics. This will be followed by Gotipua (the precursor to Odissi Dance) by disciples of Nakshyatra Gurukul Dance Academy. Vaibhav Arekar and Shankya Dance Ensemble will be showcasing a dance theatre piece in Bharatnatyam based on the philosophy of Upanishad. This will be followed by Mystical Forest a contemporary dance choreography exploring life within the forest from the perspective of its inhabitants.
When: March 11 to 13, 7 pm onwards
Where: India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi

Festival

A literary week: Penguin Random House India in collaboration with Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre presents "Spring Fever  2015". In the seventh edition of the festival, the list of speakers include prominent names from the arts such as Amitav Ghosh, Ruskin Bond, Ram Jethmalani,  Shobhaa Dé, Gulzar, Aarya Babbar, T.N. Ninan, Mihir Sharma, Raghav Bahl,  Shashi Tharoor, Gurcharan Das, Sushir Kakar, Arshia Sattar, Ravinder Singh, Durjoy Datta, Sudeep Nagarkar among others. The ten-day programme will include exciting line-up of book readings, literary discussions, musical performances, previews of our forthcoming attractions and an open air library that should prove to be a book lover's paradise.
Where: India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
When: 14-22 March, 10 am to 6 pm

MUMBAI

Art
The ecstasy of art: For the second leg of its 15th anniversary celebration, Tao Art Gallery will exhibit works created exclusively for the show by artists including Anwar, Arzan Khambatta, Satish Gupta, Seema Kohli, Brinda Miller, Heeral Trivedi, Jaideep Mehrotra, Sunil Padwal, Valay Shende, Samir Mondal and others. The pieces are based on the theme ‘ecstasy of art’, which the gallery explains as “stepping out of one’s own creation and enjoying it with a different perspective.” It looks at ecstasy in every detail of the form, colours and textures that go into making art.
Where: Tao Art Gallery, Worli, Mumbai
When: Until March 28

Splendours in stone: An exhibition by Hemangi Kadu features her photographs of sculptures from the Queen’s Stepwell at Patan. More than 65 metres in length, the UNESCO World Heritage site is among the largest stepwells in Gujarat and the 500 sculptures it bears differentiate it further. The artist has been photographing architectural heritage of India including the Ambernath temple and the Gothic architecture of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
Where: David Sassoon Library, Fort, Mumbai
When: March 13-22, 10 am-7 pm

Focus photo festival: As part of the Focus Festival 2015, Alliance Française de Bombay will present documentaries on renowned French photographers Robert Doisneau, Willy Ronis and Raymond Depardon as well as the American Man Ray. The event will be in partnership with Institut Français de Paris.
Where: Alliance Francaise auditorium, New Marine Lines, Mumbai
When: March 19-20, 6.30 pm

Film
Criminal love: Catch a screening of L’amour est un crime parfait (Love is a perfect crime), directed by Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu. It tells the story of Marc, a literature professor who is notorious for getting romantically involved with his female students. Soon after a bright student he seduced disappears, he meets Anna who is trying to find out more about the missing young woman.
Where: Alliance Francaise auditorium, New Marine Lines, Mumbai
When: March 16, 6.30 pm

Theatre in cinemas: CinePlay, which brings Indian theatre to viewers in the form of cinema, is partnering with Matterden Center For Creation (CFC) to mark the anniversary of its first release. CinePlays will be screened at the latter’s revamped 480-seat theatre in Lower Parel.  CinePlay Festival Act 1 will begin with Between the Lines, starring Nandita Das and her husband Subodh Maskara. It will also showcase Mohan Rakesh’s Aadhe Adhure and Mahesh Dattani’s Dance Like A Man, directed by Lillete Dubey.
Where: Matterden CFC, Lower Parel, Mumbai
When: Until March 22

Comedy
Streaming on stage: In its upcoming edition, the YouTube FanFest will feature a mix of music, comedy, dance, fashion and cooking. The line-up includes comedian IISuperwomanII, Bethany Mota, Jus Reign, TVF ONE, Kanan Gill and Biswa Kalyan Rath, and East India Comedy. The festival aims to bring popular YouTubers to the city so that fans can interact with them.
Where: NSCI stadium, Worli, Mumbai
When: March 20

Theatre
Best of Motley: Presented by Naseeruddin Shah’s theatre group, The Motley Theatre Festival will include performances of its popular productions. These include Ismat Aapa Ke Naam, an adaptation of Lee Bessing’s play A Walk in the Woods and Gabriel Emanuel's Einstein.
Where: Swatantryaveer Savarkar Smarak Sabhagriha
When: March 17-22
 




Music
Maharashtra folk music: NCPA Living Traditions 2015, a two-day festival, will showcase the folk music of Maharashtra. It will include screenings of two documentaries – ‘Setu: Selective introduction to the vast & varied heritage of Indian folk music’ (1987) and ‘Folk songs of Maharashtra’ (1955). The second day will feature a performance by Vijay Chavan focusing on the folk drums of Maharashtra.
Where: NCPA, Nariman Point, Mumbai
When: March 13-14, 6.30 pm

Talk
Talking about films: Ritesh Batra, the director of the The Lunch Box, through his production company Poetic License, is hosting a series of cultural events at Parsi cafes in Mumbai in order to revive them. The second events of this series will see Sharat Katariya, director of Dum Laga Ke Haisha, and ‘Badlapur’ actress Radhika Apte come together for a free-for-all session on direction and acting.
Where: Kayani & Co., Marine Lines, Mumbai
When: March 13, 10-11 am

BANGALORE

Theatre
A clown and King Lear: Rajat Kapoor's Nothing Like Lear returns to the city, with the inimitable Vinay Pathak in the lead role of the clown who hasn't stopped crying for days. And he has plenty of reasons for his tears. The one he loved the most has left him and gone away for good. He is not getting any younger. In fact he is old. But more than anything else, he is depressed because he has been forced to perform this play. He wasn't supposed to play it tonight but circumstances have forced him to do this play about a king and his daughters.
Where: Ranga Shankara, Phase II, JP Nagar, Bengaluru
When: At 7.30 March 12 to 15. Additional shows at 3.30 on March 14 & 15

Food
Slice of Saigon: Chef Vu Dinh Hung who owns three restaurants in Vietnam will be present at Shiro Bangalore to share his culinary secrets and signature dishes.  The chef will preside over food tastings, cooking demos, private dinners and more. The special menu he creates will be available at the restaurant from March 20.
Where: Shiro, UB City, Vittal Mallya Road
When: March 16 to 20
Info: For details, check www.facebook.com/experienceshiro

Theatre and film
Cine play screening: Attend the screening of the play Adhe Adhure: Halfway House, starring Lilette Dubey at Jus' Trufs cafe's cine play night. Written by Moha Rakesh, the play's protagonist Savitri, is a middle-aged woman dissatisfied with her circumstances. She has an unemployed son, a promiscuous teen daughter and a husband, who has failed to provide her emotional and financial security. She tries to find fulfillment in relationships outside her marriage. .
Where: Jus'Trufs Cafe, Jakkur, Bengaluru
When: March 15, 22 and 29, 6.30 pm

Music
East meets west: Carnatic rock band Agam will be performing in the city this weekend. Deriving its name from the Tamil word meaning “the inner self”, the band's music combines the intricacies of Carnatic music with the tones of the west.
Where: Counter Culture, Whitefield, Bengaluru
When: March 14, 9.15 pm onwards