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Magazine
Kolkata
AUTHOR and playwright Gurcharan Das launches his latest publication, The Elephant Paradigm, in Kolkata at the Oxford Bookstore on January 8. Coming close on the heels of his much-acclaimed India Unbound that explored the process of India's movement from a closed to open economy in the 1990s, The Elephant Paradigm examines the consequences of India's entry into the age of liberation as experienced by the average Indian. The launch at Oxford will feature the box-wallah turned author discussing his book with economist Amiya Bagchi and historian Rajat Kanta Ray — an exchange that promises to be heated and stimulating!
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DESPITE all the progress that humankind can boast of as we enter 2003, the unabated scourge of child labour is a grim reminder that we have failed in the most fundamental of obligations: protecting our children. But perhaps it is children themselves who can do what adults have not been able to. And with this in mind Seagull Media Resource Centre and Save the Child Fund, United Kingdom have mounted a photography exhibition of black and white photos of child labour taken by children. This exhibition — a powerful and stark testimony to the hazards and tragedy of working kids — is a result of a week-long workshop held in December for school kids between 11 and 17 to sensitise them on this issue. The exhibition features not only photographs, but also video footage and diary entries that came about during the workshop. A moving documentation of two worlds meeting, the exhibition is quite aptly called "Contact". On at Seagull from January 6-16.
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HE is a painter and storyteller, a philosopher who believes implicitly in the powers of the child mind and in the potency of art and the written word to impact and shape lives and thinking. Born in 1929 in Secundrabad, Badri Narayan is a self-trained painter and writer who has experimented in mosaic and painted ceramic tiles, in printmaking, woodcuts and engravings. His articles on folklore, art, mythology and short stories for children have been widely published. Narayan has also conducted workshops and storytelling sessions at children's camps, at institutions for juvenile delinquents and for young people who are physically or mentally challenged. Now Calcuttans can experience the magic of Narayan's recent works at Gallerie 88 at an exhibition that continues till January 10.
ARUNDHATI RAY
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