Form Goa to Delhi

Sixteen Goa based artists showcased their creativity at the NIV art gallery in Delhi

Sorrow, brutality, dire straits and sex dominated the works of Goa-based artist Kedar Dhondu. The question then comes up as to who would be interested in buying these art pieces to decorate their homes as they are full of brutality like dying people and blood shedding. Maybe no one, but people are drawn to the paintings, which were on show at the NIV Art Gallery in the Capital last week, and forced to rethink about them.
Though his works contain brutality and sexuality, the way it was depicted certainly caught one’s attention and prompted one to take home a painting. “I took at the theme of ugliness and pain because everybody experiences pain in his life once in a while. Therefore, you can find suffering in my work. Anyone can connect with my work and feel the same sorrow,” explained Dhondu.
The exhibition, titled Goa Reloaded, was at display between 21 January and 22 February at the NIV Art Gallery in Neb Sarai. As the NIV Art Gallery is basically known for providing a platform to budding talents, this time too 16 artists from Goa presented the show. “This time there were 16 artists from Goa. But the thing which they bring with themselves is their culture. Goa is among those cities, which has the most influence of western culture. Thus, you can notice it in their work as well. Many have portrayed Jesus Christ and Mother Mary as well as pubs, beer bar, dancing girls and much more,” said Mathew, the owner of the gallery. “But one more difference is in their work. They have used minimum numbers of colours. They were to stick to black, white and grey only.”
Not all the work of these artists has an influence of European culture. There is also an impact of their own regional cultures. Some have canvas on cardboard, sublime aspects of a philosophical life, life of a common man and woman of Goa. And the list goes on.
In one of the portrayals, acrylic on paper, titled Mining Boom or Cruse, Ramdas Gadekar depicted the life of miners. Through his art Gadekar tried to find out the other side of greenery and how development is costing our environment. “During childhood, I used to go to my village. That time it had lots of greenery. But now I can’t find it because of mining. At the same time I depicted the other side of the nature unlike other artist who prefer greenery,” said the artist Ramdas Gadekar.
The opening of the art exhibition witnessed the playback singer/pop artist Remo Fernandes along with Shaistah Thapar and Sanjay Srivastava, chief secretatry, government of Goa, and also the renowned installation artist Subodh Kerkar.

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This article has been reproduced here : Rakesh Kumar

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Where sun and sand meet

On his recent visit to Delhi, Robert Desvaux, Chairman of Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, shared the reason for Mauritius leading the way in containing ecological damage 

Be it actors, politicians or social workers, hardly any celebrity in the world has given a miss to a visit to Mauritius. A country small enough to be described as a dot in the ocean, it attracts tourists by the droves. It’s not surprising as this is a country where nature has bestowed the best of sunlight, the best colours of sea, the best colours of earth and the second best fresh air in the world.
Realising the importance of its heritage, Mauritius is geared up to cash in on the opportunity. “Tourists are increasing day by day in Mauritius. But still our target is to reach up to 100,000 tourists in the coming years. We are now only 50,000,” said Robert Desvaux, chairman of Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority.
Desvaux, who was on a visit to Delhi recently for the promotion of Mauritius tourism also reasoned why Mauritius had become a catwalk for celebrities. “Our islands are very large. Therefore, you can find
private beaches in the front of every hotel. In Mauritius many cultures reside together like Indian, Chinese, Portuguese and African.
Because of a mix of many cultures you can also find many international dishes like Chinese, American and Indian,” said Desvaux. “We provide many adventurers sports too. We give an option to choose from under water sports, on water sports, on ground sports to in sky sports.”
Asked why this beautiful group of islands has the highest rate of returning tourists Desvaux explained, “We have near about 40 per cent tourists who are returning tourists. There are numerous reasons behind
it, like hospitality, hotels beaches and services. At the same time we have maintained our environment very well. And whatever we promise prior to visit we deliver the same. Therefore, every tourist wants to
visit Mauritius again and again. Our tourism also contributes 10 per cent to our GDP.”
Expanding further on how the country managed to sustain the environment despite the high tourist footfall, particularly in comparison to other tourists destinations, Desvaux informed, “Everyone
knows that we are among those countries that have sustained their resources well. We believe in renewable energy and a decision not to pollute. We don’t even throw the leftover of the sugar cane in sea. We make it into ethanol, that is equivalent to petrol.”

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This article has been reproduced here : Rakesh Kumar

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‘Delhi is the best’

Television actor talks about his struggle, Delhi and latest show 

A known face of television today, Karan V Grover, can never forget his struggling days. After running from pillar to post for almost three years, he could finally create a niche for himself in the industry. “I had to knock the doors of many directors, filmmakers and television producers. Finally in 2004, I debuted as a VJ on screen,” said the actor on his recent trip to the Capital. He was here to promote his recent serial Yaha Main Ghar Ghar Kheli, currently on air on Zee TV.
Grover was born in Dehradun and later moved to Mumbai in search of work. But it is the city of Delhi that impressed him most. “Delhi has become one of the fastest growing cities in the world. I wish Mumbai had a similar kind of infrastructure,” he said. Prod him further and the shy actor discloses another likeable aspect of the city. “I like Delhi’s girls. I wish I had more time to spend here amid such lovely girls,” he said.
On why he took a U-turn to acting from being a trainee chemical engineer, he said, engineering was never his choice. “I was a bright student. My parents wanted me to pursue this course and become an engineer. So, I took it up. But I later realised that it was not my interest. I tried my luck in acting and clinched it well.” Asked about the most challenging role in his eight-year-old career, he
said it would be the one in Yaha Main Ghar Ghar Kheli. “Being a quadriplegic is even difficult to imagine. I had to push against the wall to perform this role. Now I can better understand how life must be for differently-abled people,” he concluded.

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This article has been reproduced here : Rakesh Kumar

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