The city, as she sees it
Since 2006, Lakshmi Prabhala has been photographing different facets of Hyderabad. “These are not regular touristy images. I’ve tried to capture life on the streets,” she says. Lakshmi will be exhibiting 22 photographs, both in colour and black and white, in different themes. A former software engineer and now a freelance photographer, she will also be unveiling her book Hyd and Seek.
Little known gems
Architect Shankar Narayan has travelled extensively in Telangana and wherever he went, took snapshots of the region’s architecture. His book Heritage of Telangana: Little Known Architectural Gems will feature photographs shot in the last 15 years. “These are images of unknown architectural wonders, from dargahs and temples in villages to arches. We will be exhibiting 60 images on different panels,” says Narayan, who is curating the exhibition on behalf of the Indian Institute of Architects, Telangana state chapter.
We, the newsmongers
Sivakesava Rao urges us to pause and consider what we do as a matter of routine each day. “We begin our day with the newspaper and consume news through the day. We entertain/ suffer arguments, abuses, fistfights, murders, acts of terror and news of children being raped. But what do we do after consuming so much news?” asks the artist. Through paper sculptures, he highlights the way we consume and react to news. After HLF, this exhibition will continue at Goethe Zentrum.
Listen in
At the HLF, Sayandeb Mukherjee urges you to step into a listening room and pay attention to three different narratives lasting up to 20 minutes. The sound installation project, ‘Sound Narratives’, will be accompanied by a brief synopsis to help visitors comprehend the narratives that may, otherwise, tend to be abstract. Sayandeb is a faculty with department of sound design at Annapurna International School of Film and Media. “I’ve kept the theme simple since this is the first sound installation project at the lit fest,” he says.
Tat Tvam Asi
Artist and curator Koeli Mukherjee Ghose’s recent paintings and drawings titled ‘Tvat Tvam Asi’ simply means ‘We Are That’. These paintings on the Devi are based on the reading of Tripurasundari Ashtakam and Kamakshi Stotram composed by Adi Shankaracharya. The paintings are in gouache, water colour and ink, and drawings with bamboo quills on archival handmade paper. Koeli explains, “The duality that manifests in living beings is lost when the Supreme Mother reveals herself and everything in the world becomes the mantra Shakti. Tat Tvam Asi is the spontaneous utterance of liberation.”
Calligraphy
Khushkhati or Happy Writing session will see Urdu calligraphy emerging out of a jamming session between artists Parameshwar Raju and Gaffar Khan. “Urdu is the language in focus at the HLF. This interactive Urdu calligraphy session will have both the artists working in tandem with young men and women participants, who can use the opportunity to evolve their style of work,” says curator Koeli Mukherjee.
Many faces
Manohar Chiluveru will exhibit two installations. The first will have three faces — one with English alphabets, the second face bearing randomly chosen words and phrases while the third, the face of a child, will express uncorrupted thoughts. The second installation will be a sculpture of a thinking man with a collage of images.
Mahatma at HLF
Curated by Birad Rajaram Yajnik, an interactive Ahimsa wall will enable visitors to get a glimpse of the ‘I am Gandhi’ flagship programme mooted by the Mahatma Gandhi Digital Museum, Hyderabad.
Being woman
Avani Rao Gandra’s installation ‘She: Being Light’ will represent a contemporary, multi-faceted woman. The 10-feet high sculpture will show the face of a woman in wire mesh and cotton. “Cotton symbolises a woman’s ability to stay light and find peace despite the many roles she has to play. The wire mesh gives her a form and is indicative of her strength,” says Avani.
(HLF 2015 will be on from January 24 to 26 at Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet)
