Spaces commemorates the anniversary of its founder-trustee Chandralekha with a musical performance by Barmer Boys, belonging to the Manganiyar community of Rajasthan. The trio — Mangey Khan, Magada Khan and Rais Khan — has achieved success since it cut its first disc with Amarrass Records, Delhi. The musicians have travelled and performed across India, including at the Desert Music Festival, Delhi, and the Coke Studio, and in many countries.
Dancing legend Chandralekha was instrumental in putting contemporary Indian dance on the world map with her 10 landmark productions in 20 years. Her productions integrated elements from diverse Indian physical traditions, including kalarippayattu and yoga, and explored a provocatively abstract content. Her work remains the yardstick by which Indian contemporary dance is evaluated.
Versatile artist Dashrath Patel graduated from the College of Art, Chennai, where he was a student of Devi Prasad Roy-Choudhury and later went abroad to specialise in ceramics, photography and engraving. He was drafted as the founder-director of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, in 1961.
The cultural venue Spaces Chandralekha created with co-trustee Dashrath Patel, has today become a platform for experimental work in theatre and dance in the city, and is used by a wide variety of artists. It also houses popular classes in kalarippayattu, yoga and Bharatanatyam.
The musical performance is open to all, and will be held today from 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. at Spaces, No. 1, Elliots Beach Road, Besant Nagar. Between 11 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. the musicians will demonstrate their technique and training methods at a workshop.
The event simultaneously commemorates Dashrath Patel through an exhibition of a selection of his line drawings from his vast oeuvre — curated by Sadanand Menon. The drawings, which were like his alter-ego, are in a series of media — pencil, ink, sketch pen, brush, bamboo and even feather quill — and represent his deepest thought processes.
The exhibition is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. till December 31.
