8

Cult FOLLOWING
SHELF ESTEEM

PM should
read Nehrus
writing

ART

The Black Lizard

Big Book of
Locked-Room
Mysteries, an
anthology of
centuries of
detective fiction
exploring
different aspects
of the crime that appears
impossible. It is an amazing
treasure-trove of detective tropes
and a history of how detective
writing has changed over the
ages. Since I am writing a mystery
novel right now, this has helped
me understand the genre better.

Name one book you picked

up at the airport that blew
your mind?
The Girl On The Train. As a
mystery it rarely goes beyond the
mediocre and the ending is
Abbas-Mastaan, but what lovely
characters. One of the best firstperson-perspectives from a
character-building point I can
remember reading.

GENDER AND ARTS:

last shall be the first: G.R.

Iranna Works 1995-2015,
curated by Ranjit Hoskote, features the
celebrated artist and two decades of his
oevre. On display will be paintings,
installations and more. NGMA, Palace
Road, Jan 16, 6pm

Arnab Ray, or
Greatbong, is a blogger
and author of the
books The Mine, Yatrik
and the upcoming
Sultan of Delhi
What are you reading right
now?

DISCUSSION

A LIFE IN ART: And the

Protean Frames: International Conference

on Contemporary Discourses of Feminism
examines the role of gender and how it
affects women performers, in theatre,
dance and music. Christ University, Hosur
Road, Jan 12, 2pm

THE TIMES OF INDIA, BENGALURU

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2016

MUSIC
TUNED TO FOLK: Bengaluru
folk-fusion band Swarathma,
comprising Vasu Dixit, Jishnu Dasgupta,
Sanjeev Nayak, Pavan and Varun Murali
will perform live in their first concert in
the city, for the year. Hard Rock Cafe, St
Marks Road, Jan 14, 9.30pm

GRAFFITI ART:

Mahalakshmi.P@timesgroup.com

f you have been observant, you

may have seen the cryptic words
Mohan Kaun? printed in big,
bold letters across city walls, especially in and around MG Road.
The question has left many of us
puzzled. The curious ones, who
couldnt resist the social-media stickiness of the visual, have gone one step
ahead taking selfies with the graffiti
and Instragramming them. The question, according to Shaunak Mahbubani
and Gudipudi Rahul, members of The
Klatsch Collective which has done the
graffiti, was intended to bring an awareness among Bengalureans about their
public installation project, Myself Mohan 1909, that has Chikpets 100-year-old
Mohan Building as its protagonist. The
idea behind the project was to initiate

conversations among people about old

buildings in the city, about getting them
to question,Are we really stopping by to
listen to stories the buildings around us
tell us?, explains Mahbubani. We
knew it would get reactions from people
but we didnt expect it would be this
good, says Gudipudi Rahul, about the
Mohan Kaun? scrawl, which Mahbubani says was also an attempt to introduce
typography into the citys graffiti scene.
We wanted to show that words can also
be art.
In getting people to stop, stare and
ponder over the innocuous question, the
Klatsch Collective may have succeeded
in what they wanted to do, but that also
underlines the importance of graffiti
art in a citys narrative. We need art
out in public spaces because its one of
the most effective ways to engage people
with the city, says UA Vasanth Rao,

general manager of Bangalore Metro

Rail Corporation Ltd. Thats why why
Rao is an active proponent of getting
artists, arts collectives and students of
fine arts colleges to paint the walls of
metro stations in the city. The Peenya
metro station, for instance, flaunts art
work by artist John Devaraj.
Talk about street art being utilitarian and engaging citizens and The Ugly
Indians current project, UFO, that has
the citizen group painting spaces below
the flyovers is the perfect example of art
influencing public participation. That
the model is being replicated in other
cities is endorsement enough of a good
idea. So, is graffiti art important for a
city? I believe that whats important is
that graffiti art should go beyond just
aiming to be beautiful or ugly or funny.
It should convey initiate deeper conversations among people. says Rahul.

Yes Minister and Yes Prime

Minister. The Yes Minister series
is great to watch but even better
to read. If you watch it, you end
up missing out on some of the
humor that is soaked up in the
sentences and the words.

Mahabharata. It gets gets better

with every re-reading. When you
start out by hearing stories from
the Mahabharata, it seems
straightforward kins fighting
over land. As you grow older, you
realize thats just a very small part
of the universe of conflicts that
are captured in the Mahabharata
and that you need several
lifetimes before you can claim to
have understood it.

Who are your favourite

contemporary writers, and
your favourite writers of all
time?
Of all times:

Kafka On the Shore. I know I will

never be considered an
intellectual now.

Which book would you like

the PM of India to read?
The Discovery of India. The legacy
of Nehru may be a subject of
debate, but not his ability to write.
Many of our politicians seem to be
notoriously ignorant of history, and
if there is one book that brings out
the essence of India's pluralism in
an accessible way, I can't think of
anything better than this book.

You need
several
lifetimes before
you can claim
to have understood the
Mahabharata

25 years in films, 4500

songs in 17 languages

The beginning: The beginning: My

mother Meera Krishnan is a trained Carnatic singer and my first guru. I was always interested in music and when I was
about 11, I started singing at weddings and
other functions in a band called Brindhavan. On days when we had a programme, I would rush back from school,
cycle to the pickup point and squeeze into
an Ambassador car packed with all the
equipment. I would get to sing one or
maximum two songs in a day for a fee
which started at Rs 5. Given my age and
the female octave, I would sing the female
portion of the songs or songs sung by Alisha Chinai.

Name one book you wish

everybody would read?

Name one book that is on

most must-read lists but you
havent cracked a page?

As a prologue to the freedom

jatha that will be held next week, Maraa will
be staging two plays, Arnas Children and
Natak Jari Hain in memory of Arna and
Juliano Mer Khamis and Shafdar Hashmi this
weekend. Maraa, Indiranagar, Jan 9, 7pm

Rajesh Krishnan

Which was the last book

that made you laugh?

RANA DASGUPTAS Capital.

by Mumbai-based NGO
ExpressO Talks, this event has people like
Akkai Padmashali, Sundeep Rao, Sio
Kuruvilla, Mahita Fernandes sharing their
life experiences. Harrys bar, Indiranagar
100Ft Road, Jan 10, 11am

rom a 11-year-old who loved singing Alisha Chinais songs in the

Brindhavan orchestra to a 42-yearold singing sensation with over
4500 songs in 17 languages to his
credit, the journey of renowned playback
singer Rajesh Krishnan has hit several
high notes. The voice of hits like Sumsumne Nagthale, Onde Usrirante , Usire
Usire and Nuru Janmaku completes his
silver jubilee year in cinema this month,
having made his debut in 1991 with the
Ananth Nag-starrer, Gowri Ganesha.
A conversation with Rajesh is a musical experience by itself, sprinkled with
anecdotes and humming of tunes which
he uses to break from the monotony of
dialogue.But when asked to pick his favourite songs, he refuses to name any, saying every song is close to his heart. In a
freewheeling interview with TOI, the
singer spoke of the moments that livened
his music and life. Excerpts:

The GodFather
and the
Mahabharata.
Both are similar
in a way; a
glorious
assemblage of
characters, all different shades of
grey with stories that are bigger
than life itself.

Which was the last book you

just couldn't finish?

FREEDOM IN THE SCRIPT:

Manuja.Veerappa@timesgroup.com

K Sunil Prasad

MARIO PUZOS

are also contemporary.

THEATRE

LIFE STORIES: Organised

When the citys walls talk

Which book, author or

series do you reach out for
when you want a comfort
read?

DICKENS,
NABOKOV,
CHRISTIE,
TAGORE, RAY,
KURT
VONNEGUT,
RICHARD MATHESON, PUZO, J
K ROWLING, GEORGE RR
MARTIN, KING. The last three

TALK

ART IN THE CITY: (clockwise from top left) Mohan Kaun? on Church Street, graffiti in Malleswaram that was done as part of Urban
Avant-Garde and Malleswaram Accessibility Project, a Klatsch Collective creative, John Devarajs mural in Peenya metro station

Interest in the music industry: It started with an attempt to cut an album when
I was about 17. I heard Hassan Jahangirs
Hawa Hawa and believed I could do much
better. I didnt know about marketing
strategies then. I thought if you approach
a music company with an album, they
would release it and overnight you become
a star. That was how well-informed I was.
I collaborated with the band owner, late
Prem Kumar. We composed tunes for a few
songs and got a friend to pen the lyrics.
We named the Hindi album Dhadkan.
My father was kind enough to pump in
the money. We approached a popular music company and we were so confident our
album would sell that we even carried a

bill. They asked us to leave the tape with

them and showed us two or three cupboards full of audio tapes waiting to be
heard. I was pleasantly devastated. We
later approached Rajan-Nagendra who
officially released the album and even
gave me my first break.
The big break: In January 1991, I got a
call from Rajan-Nagendra to audition. I
remember entering the Chamundeshwari
studio, and when I was shown the place
where my idol SP Balasubramanium
sang, I kissed the floor, the microphone
and the stand where he keeps his notes.
My turn came towards the end of the evening and was done in quick time. I thought
I didnt make it but a few days later I was
told the song was retained in the movie
Gowri Ganesha.

Ive acted in about four

movies. I love acting but
Im not a good actor.
The kind of variations Im
able to do with my voice
doesnt happen in acting.
There have been offers, but
they didnt really work out.
Life as a track singer: After my debut,
I began singing a lot of tracks and chorus. Nothing was really working. I met
the legendary music director Hamsalekha through a family friend. He asked
me to sing a track and he liked what he
heard. I started going to the studios religiously every day. Sometimes he would
acknowledge me, sometimes he wouldnt.
He was testing my patience is what he
told me later. I would occasionally get to
sing some tracks, but with time I got
more work.
On breaking into Hindi music industry. I feel the margin for compromise is
literally non-existent in Mumbai. The
moment you say one syllable which
doesnt sound authentic they send you
packing. It is very difficult to break in.
You need to establish a social and professional circle there. But it is the exactly
the opposite here. Here, we accept everything and anything. Our tolerance
range is huge.

There is no such thing as private protest

The fifth edition
of Lekhana,
B'luru's literary
weekend,
focuses on
freedom of
expression
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

here are literary events

that are nothing short
of carnivals packed
with literary giants and
hordes of people who
want to be seen, and then there
are literary events like Lekhana
that are quiet affairs, and all that
more personal, where an audience
member can enjoy the luxury of
interacting with a writer without
having to look at his watch or
brave crowds. We are not crowded and were not big scale. The
conversations are more intimate,
there is a greater intensity and
smaller focus. Writers who come
to Lekhana leave the big stage behind and readers who come to
Lekhana know that the discussions here are about literature
and not about who the writer is as
a public person, says writer and
organiser Arshia Sattar about

A MEETING OF MINDS: A session from Lekhana 2015 whose theme was

Narratives of Violence. This year it is The Sound of Silence

what distinguishes Lekhana, Bengaluru's literary weekend, from

other literary conclaves that the
city hosts throughout the year.
Organised by Sangam House,
an international writers residency program located in Bengaluru, this is Lekhanas fifth
edition, and as has been practice
since their first year, theres a central theme to the event. Sangam
House organises Lekhana and
what is exciting for us is that each
year, we have another set of writers from across the world that we
can bring to the local literary community. So whatever we think of
as a theme that has relevance to
the moment in India, its always
expanded by the fact that we have

other perspectives, other narratives that engage with something

that we think of as ours. And
this year, the theme that forms
Lekhanas crux is The Sound of
Silence.
The Sound of Silence, acknowledges the many individual
writers across the country who
have protested against what they
see as rising intolerance and a
stifling of critical voices in the
arts. We will be acknowledging
their right to dissent by reading
from their works through the
weekend, explains the press note.
About the thought that goes behind selecting a theme, Sattar
says, The theme is always a response to the world around us and

that's important for us because we

believe that writing engages with
a political and social environment. You can see from the panels
that the theme is not a strait jacket into which we force discussions.
But the idea of silence informs
much of what were talking about
over the weekend.
About the need to continue to
discuss and debate the issue of
freedom of expression, a subject
that created quite a tumultuous
reaction in Indian literary scene
in 2015, Sattar says, An atmosphere that threatens freedom of
expression, that creates silence
is not a news item, its a constant
state of being for people that create arts and that needs to be acknowledged every day rather
than pushed under the rug. And
about the need for writers to take
to public platforms like lit fests
to debate and voice their opinions on subjects that affect them,
she adds, Theres no such thing
as private protest or private debate. Both these expressions are
about engaging people around
you. So yes, writers or anyone
who has something to say should
take any and all avenues to reach
a public. I would add a personal
note: as long as our engagements
are non violent. And finally, as
an audience member, what does
she most enjoy about Lekhana?
For me, its never about a panel.
Its always about the weekend.
Surely, the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts, Sattar concludes.

EVENT SCHEDULE
VENUE | Indian Institute
of Human Settlements,
Sadashivanagar
Saturday, 9 Jan,
10.00am to 7.00pm
Panels (with readings by
the participating authors)

Finding the Truth in

Nonfiction
(panelists: Salil Tripathi,
Raghu Karnad, Rohini
Mohan)

Keeping it Short
(panelists: Indira
Chandrasekhar,
Mahesh Rao)

Kannadadalli hege
helodu (panelists:
Vanamala Vishwanatha,
S. Bageshree, Srinath
Perur, Chandan Gowda)

Friday, 8 Jan, 7.30pm

FILM SCREENING | An Old Dogs Diary
(Dir: Shai Heredia / Shumona Goel)
Sunday, 10 Jan, 10.00am to 6.00pm
Panels (with readings by the
participating authors)

Andal The Autobiography of a

Goddess (panelists: Priya Sarukkai
Chabria, Lata Mani)

Portrait of the Artist (panelists: Shai

Heredia, Anjum Hasan, V Sanjay
Kumar, Samhita Arni)

3
4

Underbelly of the City (panelists: Zac

OYeah, DW Gibson, Salil Tripathi)
Histories and Fictions (panelists: Saskya
Jain, Uttaran Das Gupta, DW Gibson)

Warts and All: The

Art of Biography
(panelists: Suresh
Menon, Nakul Krishna,
Raghu Karnad,
DW Gibson)

Leaving Home
Traveller/Refugee/
Migrant (panelists:
Christopher Kloeble,
Salil Tripathi, Srinath
Perur, Rohini Mohan)

Closing Panel at 5.00pm

Is PEN Mightier than the Sword (panelists:
Salil Tripathi, DW Gibson, Aakar Patel,
Arshia Sattar)
Lekhana is presented by Bhoomija, trust
for the arts, and supported by IIHS, Out of
Print magazine and the Jamun, a residency
for writers, artists and scholars. The
Lekhana bookstore is Atta Galatta.