Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Retro beauties roll down city streets

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Sports, Travel, World Opinion

Lucknow:

Sunday was a fun day for city’s motor sports aficionados and patrons of vintage cars and motorbikes. It was time to enjoy the ride in the retro beauties rolling down the streets of Lucknow. From Austin Chummy 1926 and Ford A 1928 vintage cars to Nortan, Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) and Royal Enfield motorcycles the annual vintage car and motorcycle rally once again brought back memories of a bygone era.

Organised by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Vintage Car and Motorcycle Club of Lucknow as a part of Lucknow Mahotsava, the vintage rally started from Koneshwar, Chowk after being flagged off by district magistrate Raj Shekhar.

Over 45 vintage beauties on wheels comprising 30 cars and 15 motorbikes were on the streets of Lucknow, the owners flaunting their priceless possessions.

Meandering through the roads of Old City passing through Rumi Darwaza, Chhota-Bada Imambaras, Hazratganj and also through the posh modern localities like Vibhuti Khand, the rally terminated at Indira Gandhi Prathisthan, Gotminagar.

Owner of the oldest vintage car Austin Chummy 1926, M A Khan, who has been participating in the rally for the past 21 years from the time Lucknow Mahotsava first organised such an event, said, “Old beauties always retain their charisma and preserving them helps conserve a cultural heritage.”

Along with the Lucknowites the rally comprised participants from other cities of Uttar Pradesh too.

Dr Tarun Sehgal, a resident of Sitapur and a proud owner of a treasured classic car, MGTC 1947 who has been participating in the event since past 11 years, said, “Every time I take out my MGTC 1947 model I enjoy the experience of driving and basking in the vintage glow.”

Secretary of Vintage Car and Motorcycle Club of Lucknow and also one of the participants, Sandeep Das believes though maintaining vintage or even for that matter classic vehicles is an expensive affair, the passion of the proud owners overrides the money spent and energy consumed.

In Car Parlance

Vintage cars- Cars manufactured before and till December 31 st 1939(Second world war) are called vintage cars

Classic cars- Cars manufactured between 1940-1962 are termed as classic cars.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Uzma Talha, TNN / December 01st, 2014

Chikan and Zardoji artisans put up stall in Lucknow mahotsava

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Lucknow :

The artisans of Chikan and Zardoji have beenprovided space by NABARD and HCBL Co-operative Bank Limited in the Lucknow Mahotsava to display and market their products. Inside the NABARD pavilion, two stalls have been given to the Chikan and Zardoji artisans whom HCBL Bank had provided financial assistance.

The CEO of HCBL Bank Limited, Pawan Kapoor, said that bank has provided these artisans loans at low interest rates and specialincentives. He said that under the financial inclusion program theHCBL Bank has not only disbursed loans but provided space at bank branches to market their products.

The Chikan and Zardoji stalls at NABARD camp in Mahotsava have been getting great respone from public. Kapoor said that artisans have beenselling their produce at the Mahotsava stall with bare minimum profitand one can get authentic Chikankaari and Zardoji works here.

Chikankari and Zardoji are the traditional crafts of Lucknow city, which are widely appreciated all over the world. The HCBL Bank said it is committed to promote the age old art of Chikankari, for which the State of Uttar Pradesh is famous.

Earlier in July, KK Gupta, chief general manager of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Lucknow had distributed cheques of financial assistance to artisans and craftsmen at the Alambagh branch of the bank. At that time has assured artisans that in the coming Lucknow Festival, five stalls would be provided by NABARD to display and sell their products.

NABARD provides training to the artisans about latest trend and designs in Chikankari. This is the third phase of financial assistance extended to the artisans by the HCBL Bank. Earlier in August and December 2013 too, the Bank had organized similar events in which a large number of artisans had benefited.

HCBL Bank said it also aims at providing point of sale options to the artisans to sell their products at branch offices. “This will not only help the artisans to show case their products and art but also earn a reasonable income through such sales, said the bank.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Priyanka Singh, TNN / December 05th, 2014

Allahabad artists go online to sell their painting

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Allahabad :

Confident brush strokes, bright colors, a creative theme and days of hard work, that’s what it takes to make a good painting. But it becomes quite disappointing to see if that piece of brilliant artwork doesn’t get the deserving appreciation. That’s precisely what most young painters have been facing for years in the city now. Exhibitions are held, paintings are put on display, but these brilliant piece of work fail to find buyers. But thanks to the advent of technology and boom in the online market, their plights seemed to have got ended. Unable to sell paintings in the local markets, these artists are resorting to social networking and online platforms to sell their stuff.

Happy with the change

Talk to the painters in the city and ask them how their lives have got changed since they started using online platforms and they answer enthusiastically. Dheeraj Yadav, a graduate from the department of Visual Arts who started marketing his paintings on facebook some times ago, adds, “The problem with this city is, people hardly buy paintings. You invite them over to your exhibition, they will come over, appreciate your work and go back. It’s not that the quality of paintings put on display is bad or the price is too high, the buying culture is just not there. Even if you price a painting as low as 1000 rupees, people rarely buy,” shares the budding painter who manages to sell a few paintings monthly using facebook these days, adding, “But now I have changed my approach. I have joined various forums on the facebook and I market my paintings there. I get to sell 3-4 paintings monthly.”

Drill these youngsters further to know more about this issue and the picture gets clearer. Dharmendra Kumar, another budding painter of the city who also resorted to online platforms recently, shares his story. “To a great extent the tag matters. More than how good a painting is, people focus on who has made it. They feel that unless a painting has been made by renowned painter, it is not worth buying, so even if they like our paintings, they would not buy it for the tag factor,” claims the youngster who recently started approaching online galleries and is getting good response from them now. “Because these online galleries are managed by professionals who have good network, they are able to arrange buyers. How they manage to sell them is something I don’t know, but in the past 3 months, I have been able to sell 7-8 paintings. Although the galleries take a 30-40% cut, given the fact they manage buyers for us, I feel it’s ok. Nothing comes for free,” adds the painter without divulging the details of the money he managed to earn from these sales.

At what price a painting gets sold is a very important factor and it seems these budding painters are quite satisfied with the returns they are getting by selling these paintings online. Adding to Dharmendra’s point, another painter Amreesh Kumar avers, “Best part of selling paintings online despite the presence of middle men is that nobody is there to haggle. You can price it as per your whims and fancies and it will be sold on your listed price. Locally that is the worst problem we face,” claims Amreesh, who managed to sell 3 of his paintings in the last couple of weeks,” adding, “Online platforms actually give us options of buyers. If somebody is unwilling to pay what we want, we can always look for other. Aaj nahi to kal bik hi jaegi and wo bhi achche rate par.”

This trend has been able to motivate these youngsters so much that a few of them are even thinking of starting their own pages and blogs. Painter Ankit Pandey, who graduated from University of Allahabad a few years ago, is one of them. “So far I was a member of a number of forums in facebook, but given the kind of response my paintings are getting, I have decided to make own page and blog. I will put some of my best paintings on display. Some of my painter friends have advised me that this will help in increasing my brand value,” claims the painter who managed to sell 4 of his paintings in the past one and half months using these platforms.

Prof Ajay Jaitley, Head of the Visual Arts department at the University of Allahabad and person in-charge of Nirala Art Gallery, one of the two most important art galleries of the city, avers, “For the past over 30 years, I have seen almost all the painters of the city. There is no dearth of talent, but painting buying culture is just not there in this city. Moreover, absence of professional galleries, which can market and give platforms to budding artists, is another reason. Visitors take these budding artists’ work lightly, so we need better marketing to improve the local market,” he says before highlighting the impact of online galleries, e-commerce sites and social networking platforms further. “On an average an artist gets to sell his painting for minimum 5000 rupees online, at least that’s something I have been told by the people selling them, so youngsters are definitely getting good returns. Although, this trend is still at a nascent stage, it has given the more exposure and bigger market. Websites like fizdi.com, Indiaart.com and indiaarthub.com, besides others, are some of the websites which youngsters are sending their works to.”

But not everyone seems to be satisfied with the response of these online platforms. There are people who have been using them for quite some time, but have not been able to get good response despite all the efforts. Shobit Yadav, post graduate student at the Visual Arts department who has neither had a very good experience uploading his paintings’ pictures on facebook, nor sending these pictures to various websites, is one of them. “I have been uploading my paintings pictures on Instagram and facebook for the past 4 months, but so far have not been able to attract even a single buyer. People send queries but so far no query has got translated into business,” he says, adding, “I even sent a few pictures to Indiaart.com but so far have not got any response. So I personally do not feel that online/social networking platforms can help too much.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Shashank Tripathi, TNN / December 01st, 2014

Church goers fondly remember ‘Shah Jahan of Christians’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel

Aligarh :

The name ‘Daniel Wilson’ might not ring a bell in the streets, but for a handful of Christians in the town, he remains a figure of reverence. He founded the Christ Church in 1835, which continues to be thronged by the Protestants here. The building is a symbol of pride for them, they say. And a symbol of pride for the city as well. For this is the church that has withstood the tribulations of time and attacks from fringe right-wing groups. An exemplar of India’s chequered history of diversity.

The mention of Bishop Daniel Wilson brings a smile on the cluster of people present at the Church, who call him the “Shah Jahan of Christians”. Advocate Osmond Charles said, “Bishop Wilson is Shah Jahan of Christians because he built 20 churches in four years’ time. He built churches in cities lying between Aligarh and Calcutta.”

The church came into existence as part of the British’s plan to promulgate Christianity through the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), which was a missionary organization of the Church of England in 1701. The establishment was involved in establishing some of the oldest missionaries and churches in Kanpur in 1833. In the 19th century, SPG, which is now called the Churches of North India, sent clergymen equipped with religious literature to Britain’s colonies to expand the Abrahamic religion.

With November 30 being the foundation day for the Churches of North India and the day on which a refurbished Christ Church opened its gates to its devotees again, it gave the community a chance to hark about the past. They darkly recall the past when the church came under attack from right-wing forces. Sherley J Joy, a resident of the town, said: “I was very young when this incident occurred in 1998. I remember some fascist outfits came and uprooted the cross that was used as an indicator to the Church. We felt threatened to practice our faith. As a young girl, I accompanied the other Christian families to the collector’s office to fight for our fundamental right to practice our faith.”

The secretary of the church A Verghese also spoke of the turbulent days. He recounted his experience of carrying out a procession on the streets, and how they fought for their rights during those bleak days. But he also spoke about the significance of the Christ Church, both in terms of history and art. “This building has a lot of significance for us. Besides being one of the oldest churches in North India, the church has an artistic appeal as well. Several museologists and theologians come to the church every year to take in the building’s impressive architecture.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Agra / by Eram Agha, TNN / November 30th, 2014

Boat race adds adventure to festival

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports

Lucknow:

One of the most awaited events of Lucknow Mahotsava, the boat race, brought much needed adventure to the festival. Organised at Awadh Water Sports Club in Nishatganj on Saturday, the race saw high turnout and enthusiasm from participants.

Every rower wanted to be a champion. Be it single scullers, double scullers or coxless pairs, everyone was eyeing the winner’s trophy.

On cloud nine after being declared the winner of the men’s pair ore race along with his partner Prateek Jaiswal, Prakhar Tiwari said, “This victory became possible due to our coordination which was better than that of others”.

Contestant Varsha Jaiswal said, “This is the first time I am taking part in a water sport at Lucknow Mahotsava. I had only one week practice to be the part of this boat race”.

Events included single sculls, double sculls, pair oars and coxless fours (crew consisting four rowers, each with one oar) covering a distance of 1km.

The most colourful race was of the manjhis (boatmen) who had beautifully decorated boats. The excited bunch was cheering for all their fellow rowers. There were also special prizes for the most beautiful boat and the oldest rower. Dayalu won in the first category and 88-year-old Sunder Lal in the second.

Manjhi Rameshwar bagged the winner’s trophy for being the fastest in this category.

“I have been participating in this festival for four years. In the first year, I didn’t win anything. The year after, I stood third and then second. This time, I am the champion”.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / November 30th, 2014

Fun time for batch of 1964 at IIT-K

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education

The ‘batch of 1964’ arrived on the IIT-K campus with their spouses to celebrate the Golden Jubilee reunion on Saturday. None of them was ready to waste a single moment as they went around the campus reliving the nostalgia. A total of 43 alumni participated in the meet. The batch had a strength of 225.

The reunion officially began with the lighting of lamp by IIT-K director Prof Indranil Manna in the presence of Prof Manindra Agarwal and Prof Prabhat Munshi. However, for the alumni fun started as soon as they reached the campus on Friday. They got group photographs clicked and shared experiences of life with current students. The former students were excited to see a sea-change at IIT-Kanpur. Many of them claimed that several new buildings have come up on the campus.

Sumant Sareen, who is currently settled in Dubai, said, “It is pleasing to come back to IIT-Kanpur.” He said that the institute had changed a lot in these years and lots of infrastructure too had come up. His batch-mate Padma Jyoti accepted, “Institute has undergone a massive change.”

The institute said that the ‘batch of 1964’ has been quite successful within India and abroad. The institute administration mentioned that these ex-students would leave the campus as role models for students with whom they interacted not just as their seniors but as well-wishers interested in their successes.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kanpur / TNN / November 24th, 2014

Maths whiz creates another marvel

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Science & Technology

Lucknow :

After devising a calendar containing dates of over 10 lakh years, city-based mathematics enthusiast Jagrat Chatterjee has now been able to jot down multiplication tables from 1 to 2072 on a single chartpaper.

Speaking to TOI, Jagrat, said, “It took me almost 50 hours to give final shape to the multiplication tables on a chart paper. I am now planning to officially register this feat into the Limca Books of Records and subsequently in the Guinness Book of Records.” He further stated that at times, even he had to use a magnifying glass to locate a certain number on the chartpaper.

Jagrat said numbers and their games fascinate him. “Unlike other creative pursuits, number games widen various faculties of mind, and that’s why I am interested in designing new arrangements and other similar patterns using numbers,” Chatterjee added.

In 2013, Jagrat had compiled a calendar which could provide dates for 10 lakh 8 thousand years. He was honoured with Shaan-e-Shahar Samman in the 2013 edition of Lucknow Mahotsava for the achievement.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / November 25th, 2014

Architectural nuances of Chhatar Manzil impresses INTACH team

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel

Young conservation architect Shweta and her team have come on behalf of INTACH to prepare an inventory of defects and damages.
Young conservation architect Shweta and her team have come on behalf of INTACH to prepare an inventory of defects and damages.

Lucknow :

Their maiden visit to the Chhatar Manzil reminded them of one of the primary lessons in architecture — Rome was not built in a day. The sentiment ruled the mind of young conservation architect Shweta and her team who have come on behalf of INTACH to prepare an inventory of defects and damages.

“The roman proverb is quoted to teach that conservation of an architectural building is sure to take months and years and instill some sense of patience in us. In this sense, Chhatar Manzil is our patience test,” said Shweta who’s accompanied by architect Shaista and interns Dhravi and Mukul.

They reached Chhatar Manzil at around 1 pm with a camera, a couple of torches, measuring tapes, notebooks and observations in mind made during an assessment of building’s old pictures and descriptions. Presence of an extra floor at many places was the first problem the team noted.

Showing the one on the front facade, Shweta said, “Photographic evidences suggest that the 2nd floor is extra. And from the inside, the twin-floors break into 3-4 sections against the original look.” They discovered that portion housing canteen was the most altered segment. Here, old pillars have been scooped out to make way for drains. Shifting of CDRI has left behind scores of huge holes and burrows in this part. Chemical waste and other glass substances is also to be disposed.

Air conditioners ducts have created many bruises on the oriental building. “Rectangular tin boxes to fit ACs inside circular windows look like a patch stitched over velvets,” remarked one of them. On the rear side of the building, temporary structures particularly tin sheds ruin the look.

Dampness and vegetation are the other two challenges. However, biggest of all problems is unavailability of material that describes the inner portions of the building. “In this case, we would bank on the characteristics of the construction system of the age,” said Vipul Varshney, convener INTACH Lucknow chapter who also inspected the place later during the day. “Lack of dampness in the basement is a good news as it would make restoration easy,” she added.

"Chutter Munzil, Lucknow," a photo by Edward Sache, c.1880's; and * / www.columbia.edu
“Chutter Munzil, Lucknow,” a photo by Edward Sache, c.1880’s; and * / www.columbia.edu

Journey of the building

Nawab Saadat Ali Khan bought this grand piece of architecture 200 years ago for Rs 50,000 from Claude Martin, a French army officer and architect.

Not meant for public eyes, Saadat Ali Khan commissioned the construction of an extension, which is now Chhatar Manzil. From then, it became the principal residence of the Avadh sovereign.

Nawab Saadat Ali Khan died before the completion of the construction of Chhatar Manzil and it was completed by his successor Nawab Ghazi-ud-din Haidar.

After the war of independence in 1857, the British acquired the palace and turned it into the United Services Club — stripping much of its former grandeur.

After Independence, it was taken over by the government and on February 17, 1951, then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) here to start the first drug research laboratory in the country.

Now that it has been handed over to the state archaeological department, the doors of Farhat Baksh Kothi and Chhatar Manzil will be opened to public for the first time in history.

Later, the even more opulent Qaiserbagh Palace by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah overshadowed Chhatar Manzil’s grandeur. During the mutiny, Indian soldiers used the palace as a shelter.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Shailvee Sharda, TNN / November 20th, 2014

3-day Manfest-Varchasva fest begins

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education

Lucknow:

The three-day Manfest-Varchasva 2014, the annual business, sports and cultural fest was inaugurated at Indian Institute of Management Lucknow on Thursday.

IIM-L director Prof Rajiv K Srivastava inaugurated the fest. The event also witnessed a captivating performance by professional Kathak dancers from Rashtriya Kala Akademi.

Earlier, Manfest, the Business Conclave, and Varchasva, the Sports and Cultural fest, were held separately. This year the two events have been merged, creating a vast canvas of events and offerings catering to all.

The management events such as the Next CEO, Strategica, Stratstruck, Travel Trails and Finesse among others will be held. The cultural events include Hallabol, Antarnaad, Imperio, Inferno, Vivakshita, Vibes, Stairway to Hell and Uttarang.

Miss India International 2013 and Bollywood Actress Zoya Afroz will judge Miss India Campus Princess on Friday. The event will give a direct entry to the winner to the final round of Miss India 2015 auditions in Mumbai.

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam, professor of Marketing at Emory University at USA Jagdish Sheth and former deputy governor of RBI Subir Gokarn are expected to attend the three day event.

Lucknow City Run in which over 2000 individuals will “Run for a Greener Tomorrow” will be held on Sunday.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / November 21st, 2014

Prez lays foundation of world’s tallest Krishna temple

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Travel

Agra:

The holy town of Vrindavan should strive to become the world centre for spiritual enlightenment, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Sunday after performing the “ananta shesha sthapana” puja for the construction of the world’s tallest Shri Krishna temple here.

The “Chandrodaya Mandir”, an architectural marvel seeking to restore the glory and the times of Lord Shri Krishna, is planned to be three-times the height of the 72.5m Qutub Minar in Delhi.

Mukherjee praised the temple architect and congratulated the authorities of ISKCON who are building the shrine. UP governor Ram Naik and BJP MP from Mathura and yesteryear actor Hema Malini were also present.

“I am glad to know that Government of India and the Government of Uttar Pradesh have taken various initiatives towards making Vrindavan a hub of religious tourism. The present project adds a new dimension to these initiatives and shall hopefully generate positive spin-offs both for local society and the economy,” Mukherjee said.

He hoped that ‘Vrindavan’ strives to become a world renowned centre for spiritual enlightenment, from where the message of divinity and peace resonates across all humanity.

Mukherjee said as the country is undergoing a change from being a developing to a developed economy, there will be immense pressures on our socio-economic and moral fabric.”It is, therefore, imperative that we reconnect to our spiritual dimensions. There can be no better way of doing this than spreading the Bhagvad Gita’s message of universal love and humanity.

The Chandrodaya Temple site is strategically located on Bhaktivedanta Swami Marg, which was formerly called Chhatikara road. The temple has main access to Vrindavan on the Delhi-Agra highway.

The skyscraper temple project will be spread across 5 acres, surrounded by the recreated forests of Braj, conceived by the devotees of ISKCON-Bengaluru.

The temple will be 210 meters or 700 ft in height (70 storeys). A capsule elevator will takes visitors from the ground level to the 700-foot tall viewing gallery giving an immersive 3D sound and light experience of the different planetary systems described in the Vedic literatures.

The temple authorities have also planned to create forests of Vrindavan around the temple based on descriptions in the Srimad Bhagavatam. A sprawling 26 acres will consist of the 12 forests (dvadashakanana) of Braj.

There will be a Krishna Lila theme park whose main attractions will include themed story telling areas, musical fountains, lawn and water features, a Yamuna creek for boating experience, a Braj heritage village and a goshala to recreate the atmosphere of Vrindavan of Lord Krishna. Krishna Heritage museum, Bhagvad Gita Expo, lecture halls and a centre for Krishna heritage studies.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Agra / TNN & Agencies / November 16th, 2014