Madhubani art, international music and Gabriel Garcia Marquez to jazz up your weekend

Some recommendations for this weekend

Delhi

Art

Art through the ages: Padum Madhubani presents Ancient Lines, Current Times, a group exhibition showcasing Madhubani paintings. The exhibition will take you to the journey that Madhubani Painting has travelled through eons. It celebrates few of those artists who for more than three generations now have dedicated their life and passion to keep oblivion away from the most ancient community art form in the world. They are as ancient as the Ramayana and have ever since braced changes through eons retaining its timeless beauty. The participating artists include Rani Jha, Usha Jha, Sonam Jha and Shravan Paswan.
Where: Open Palm Court Gallery, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
When: November 9-10, 11am-7pm

Theatre

  Theatre for thought: Blue Phoenix Production will be showcasing Khamosh! Adalat Jaari Hai, a play by Vijay Tendulkar. The play is a classic social satire that portrays the hypocritical face of Indian society. The story revolves around a theatre group and its members (symbolising different facets of the social order) who get locked in the theatre before their show and decide to pass the time by playing a game of a false courtroom drama. The patriarchal society targets the free spirited Leela Benare, who is chosen as the culprit. Benare gets entangled in a web of lies and mockery which slowly uncover the masks of frustration, hypocrisy and orthodoxy from the face of the real society.
Where: Lok Kala Manch , Lodhi Road, New Delhi
When: November 9, 6:30 pm

Films

Date with Marquez: Instituto Cervantes will be screening Milagro en Roma( Miracle in Rome), a 1988 Columbian film based on Gabriel García Márquez’s book The long happy life of Margarito Duarte. Directed by: Lisandro Duque Naranjo, the film follows the story of Margarito Duarte, a man whose daughter died under sudden and inexplicable circumstances. Disinterred years later, her body is discovered in pristine condition, having undergone no apparent decomposition. Unwilling to bury his daughter once again, Margarito struggles with the Vatican to have his daughter canonised as a saint.  It is throughout a seamless weave of tragedy, comedy, miracle and earth-bound ordinariness.
Where: Instituto Cervantes, Connaught Place, New Delhi
When: November 9, 4:30 pm

Glimpses of the beautiful game: The Italian Embassy Cultural Centre presents Football Film Festival, an event that will screen football movies from across the world. The line up includes The Lost World Cup, a 2011 Italian film that tells the story of the 1942 World Cup; Three Million, a Uruguayan documentary about the passion for football shared by a father-son duo who reunite at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa; and Pele Forever, a 2004 documentary on Brazilian legend Pele.
Where: Italian Embassy Cultural Centre, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi
When: November 7-9, 2 pm

Kolkata

Art

Confluence of colours: The Gateway Hotel is showcasing a solo exhibition of paintings by Atish Mukherjee. The event will feature paintings that represent the imagination and perception of the artist in various shades and colours. The artist uses art as a medium to depict human feelings, instincts and relationships. He changes his style from realistic to abstract and semi-abstract, moving effortlessly from acrylics on canvas to tempera on stretched cloth.
Where: The Gateway Hotel, Rajdanga Main Road, Kolkata
When: Till November 24

Theatre

Bridging the gap: Girish Mancha presents Shahenshah Ebong Haripada, a Bengali drama that highlights the importance of moral values that are gradually becoming unimportant to the younger generations as they desire to earn enormous amount of wealth in no time. The story revolves around Manan, who is the only child of Akashsovan. He is actually a Jatra comedy artist but his father thinks he is an engineer. While he comes to stay with his father for three days, he happens to meet Mr. Pritishindu Mitra, the central minister. He tries to grab this chance, but eventually fails to do so as the minister is trapped by CBI officers.
Where: Girish Mancha, Bagbazar Street, Kolkata
When: November 9, 6:30 pm

Bengaluru

Music

Music from Maldives: Sounds of Maldives, a festival to celebrate the music of the island. The lineup for the evening includes composer and producer Paighde, guitarist Fasy, rock and heavy metal band Nothnegal and Fa'thu, among others. The festival is in its fifth edition and is being held in India for the first time.
Where: UB City amphitheatre, Vittal Mallya Road, Bangalore
When: November 7, 5.30 pm onwards

Sway to the beat: Dirty Vegas, best known for their chart-topping single Days Go By will be performing live. The Grammy winning duo, Steve Smith and Paul Harris, who have seen their album sales soar to 1 million, will be joined by fellow musician from the UK John '00' Fleming.
Where: The Ritz Carlton, Residency Road, Bangalore
When: November 8, 9 pm onwards
Info: Passes (Rs 1000) available on www.bookmyshow.com

Dance

Festival of classical dance: Immerse yourself in classical dance and music at Kala Nadam, a 3-day festival featuring kathak, bharatnatyam, kuchipudi and odissi. The first day will also see the launch of Ashish Khokar's Attendance 2014, to be followed by a kuchipudi performance by Jaikishore Mosalikanti and Padmavani Jaikishore.
Where: ADA Ranga Mandira, J.C.Road, Bangalore
When: November 7-9, 6 pm onwards

Mumbai

ART

Comment on collective behaviour: Artist Apurba Nandi’s latest artworks draw inspiration from the “political power that emerges from organizations which are highly structured assemblies of people.” Titled Fathoming the Power, the collection explores parallels between physical, pictorial formations and the vulnerable urban social structures. Nandi was fiddling with various human figures and the formations eventually reflected his views on the collective behaviour of people.
Where: Gallery Beyond, Mumbai
When: November 6-29

FILMS

Film within a film:  Yeti is a Hindi Film with English subtitles, Produced by FTII & Roughwork Films. It follows the fragmented journeys of a group of strugglers, who are currently working on a film. They keep negotiating with their insecurities in their workplace and difficulties in their personal lives. The film is written and directed by Abhijit Mazumdar.
Where: Little Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point, Mumbai
When: November 13, 6:30pm

A Streetcar Named Desire: As part of its National Theatre screenings, NCPA will show a filmed version of A Streetcar Named Desire directed by Benedict Andrews and starring Gillian Anderson. In Tennessee Williams’ legendary play, as Blanche’s fragile world crumbles, she comes face-to-face with the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski.
Where: Godrej Dance Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point, Mumbai
When: November 12 & 17, 6:30 pm, Nov 13, 7 pm

MUSIC

Children of music: On the occasion of Children’s Day, two children who have had the benefit of early training in the field of Indian music will showcase their skills. Viraj, 11, is the grandson of legendary vocalist Bhimsen Joshi. He trains with his father Shrinivas Joshi and Sudhakar Chavan. Initiated by his father, Narendra Bhosale, 15-year-old Varad is a disciple of the sitar maestro Arvind Parikh.
Where: Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point, Mumbai
When: November 14, 11:30am

COMEDY

Down under Comedy: The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is coming to India this month. Ronny Chieng, David Williams, Kate McLennan, ElbowSkin, Nish Kumar and Rohan Desai are among the highlights of the all-star roadshow. The event will also include Raw Comedy, a competition through which Indian comedians can win a chance to showcase their talents internationally.
Where: Café Nemo, Worli (Raw Comedy) & Blue Frog, Lower Parel (MICF Roadshow), Mumbai
When: November 7-9