Latest Art & Culture
Emerging from a dead end

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Artist KANCHAN CHANDER’s film Mental Block echoes the common feeling of helplessness. But hang on; the experience can be cathartic, as NITI SINGH BHANDARI found out
After nearly four decades of consistent body of work that has stirred the artistic fraternity, Kanchan Chander is a remarkably confident woman. The torso has been central to her work, as do the images of Hollywood and Bollywood divas, and her own role model, the iconic Frida Kahlo. There is no baggage that she finds daunting to carry, and she is extremely happy with popular aesthetics. Imbuing her work with sequins, lace and feathers, in bordello colours, it’s a happy mood that Kanchan conjures up. Scratch the surface, and deeper meanings come forth. Kanchan’s feminist ideology has been a constant thread in her work. The feminine body is both a fantasy and an object of power. It is also one that has dealt with inner turmoil.
Mental Block, a 4-minute film made by her and edited by her student, is a sharp contrast to her decorous works. “As creative people we all have that phase when nothing emerges. What does one do at that point?” she asks. At one side are the exigencies of earning a living (Kanchan separated from her husband 21 years ago), and on the other side are the benchmarks one creates for one’s own self. The black and white film can be taken at the autobiographical level; and like any art, it’s also everyone’s dilemma. Kanchan mentions it’s the common woman’s dilemma, the woman who finds it hard to make a decent living, and cries loudly in her private moment, at her own helpless situation. The feeling of helplessness, however, crosses social boundaries. It can be the artist looking for that great idea to take on his/her next work; the writer who finds it hard to pen down words; or a helpless medical, financial or emotional situation.
In black and white, the camera unabashedly strips Kanchan of all the outward frills, as she sobs or laughs loudly, rather helplessly full-throttle—the stark emotion witnessed by all. This dialogue with the recesses of the inner space is cathartic. Kanchan herself states that in the summer of 2013 when she had her own mental peace back, she started creating her famed necklaces with Hollywood and Bollywood divas. Letting out the emotion of helplessness helped her emerge out of it. From crisis emerged a new opportunity—and it is this fact that Kanchan would like to dwell upon.
In a riveting talk with lawyer-turned-artist Bahaar Dhawan Rohatgi, that also involved the rapt audience, it was the psyche of the woman, the feminine experience, that was discussed after the film was showcased recently in Delhi. The prosaic and the mystique of the feminine experience are two sides of the same coin. Encountering issues wholeheartedly leads to the calm centre from wherein dwells the key to all forms of industry. Women recounted how in their personal journeys they had to break conventional shibboleths to pursue what they wanted. Like Bahaar, who left the confines of a well-paid job as a lawyer, to chart out her course in art.
Kanchan admits: “Choosing a career in art demands a streak of unconventionality, as you move further from the socially approved roles of a wife and mother.”
The event organised by artculturefestival.in, an art platform, in the contemporary environs of the popular pub Ek Bar in Delhi provided a happy break from the usual auditorium-centred discourses as the casual backdrop made it easy for engaging interactions that steered the event.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Entertainment
2 States author Chetan Bhagat uses Uorfi Javed for 2 minutes of publicity?
If you didn’t know who Uorfi Javed is: she’s an actor-model who has made a name for herself in the entertainment industry, breaking shackles with her unconventional fashion choices.

Chetan Bhagat, the management grad-turned-bestseller writer famous for flip-fiction, recently showered woke gyan about how the young in India are going to bed with Uorfi Javed’s pictures under their blankets.
If you didn’t know who Uorfi Javed is: she’s an actor-model who has made a name for herself in the entertainment industry, breaking shackles with her unconventional fashion choices. From creating an outfit with just mobile phones and charging cables to acing an outfit of garbage bags, the actor, more of a fashion icon of late, made head turns not once but over a million times.
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Uorfi Javed has also been acknowledged by another fashion icon with an atypical sense of fashion, Ranveer Singh, on the popular talk show Koffee With Karan. But who remembers this?
So let it go and remember what gyan Chetan Bhagat recently put out there for the country’s youth. First, the author has two young sons, who obviously, if one goes by their father’s words, don’t get excited by the female form.
Bhagat not only tagged Uorfi, who is way more popular than him in recent times, as someone using her body for publicity but also promoted the long-lived taboo on sex in the country which may well be called the origin of sensuality and eroticism, Kamasutra.
The author also compared jawans at the borders protecting the country with the youth who are hunkering down with a hot photo under their blankets. As if, the armed forces is meant to be celibate!
Bhagat also said youth nowadays spend most of their time liking women’s pictures and reels on Instagram and Uorfi gets crores of likes. He further called Uorfi a bechari, who is making a career.
Uorfi Javed is a former Bigg Boss contestant, TV actor, and now a social media sensation aka fashion icon! She is no “bechari” and she does not use her body for publicity. But this time, Chetan Bhagat of Three Idiots fame definitely used Uorfi Javed for just two minutes of publicity.
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India News
Women’s rights activist Mary Roy, mother of Arundhati Roy, passes away at 89
She was the founder and director of Pallikoodam School, which was formerly known as Corpus Christi High School.

Academician and women’s rights activist Mary Roy passed away in Kerala’s Kottayam on Thursday. The activist was the mother of the renowned Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy. She is survived by her two children, daughter Arundhati Roy and son Lalit Roy.
She was the founder and director of Pallikoodam School, which was formerly known as Corpus Christi High School, located in Kalathilpady, a suburb of Kottayam town in Kerala.
She is known for winning a Supreme Court lawsuit in 1986 against the gender-biased inheritance law, famously dubbed the ‘Mary Roy Case,” which was prevalent within the Syrian Christian community in Kerala. The judgement ensured equal rights for Syrian Christian women as with their male siblings in their ancestral property.
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Personal Life
Mary Roy was born in 1933 to an entomologist P.V. Isaac. She did her schooling at Jesus and Mary Convent in Delhi and graduated from Queen’s Mary College in Chennai. Her grandfather John Kuriyan established the first school in the Kottayam district – Rao Bahadur John Kuriyan School.
While working as a secretary for a company in Calcutta, she met her husband Rajib Roy. After experiencing marital problems, she returned to her father’s home in Ooty with her two kids. She eventually engaged in court conflict with her elder brother George Isaac over the ownership of this property.
What was the court case about?
Travancore Succession Act of 1916 says that the women of Mary Roy’s Syrian Christian community could not inherit property. In 1960, she filed a case against her elder brother after her father’s demise to gain equal access to the inheritance left to them. The case was considered a landmark case for the reason it fought for equal property rights for Syrian Christian women. After eight years of a long struggle, she finally received the property.
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Entertainment
RD Burman Birth Anniversary: 5 Evergreen hits of Pancham Da
Today is the 83rd birth anniversary of RD Burman, who composed a number of memorable songs in the Bollywood music industry. Today, on this special occasion, we have brought you a playlist of his selected songs.

Today is the 83rd birth anniversary of the musical maestro, RD Burman, who composed a number of memorable songs in the Bollywood music industry. RD Burman was the man who changed the definition of music by bringing western and retro beats to music.
RD Burman has gifted a number of timeless music to Bollywood, which hardly anyone has been able to match today. RD Burman’s full name was Rahul Dev Burman. His father was a singer and composer while his mother was a lyricist. People also affectionately called him Pancham Da.
Pancham da gave music to about 300 films in his career. He made different tunes in his style of music. His music originated not only from musical instruments but also from everyday items such as cups, plates, and empty bottles. Burman gave many hit songs to Hindi cinema, like Mehbooba-Mehbooba, Bach Ke Rehna Re Baba, Jab Hum Jawaan Hoenge, etc.
The list of these songs is so long that it is difficult to count. That is why today, on this special occasion, we have brought you a playlist of five compositions by this music maestro.
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Pyaar Hum Kis Mod Pe Le Aaya from the movie Satte Pe Satta is sung by Sapan Chakraborty and Kishore Kumar. This 1982 film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Amjad Khan, Shakti Kapoor and Sarika in the lead roles.
The song Rimjhim Gire Sawan from the 1979 film Manzil is picturized on Amitabh Bachchan and Moushmi Chatterjee. This song is sung by Kishore Kumar.
The song O Mere Dil Ke Chain from the 1972 film Mere Jeevan Saathi is still well-liked. This song was sung by Kishore Kumar.
The song Tum Kya Jaano Mohabbat Kya Hai from the 1971 film Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin was sung by RD Burman and he also composed its music. The new generation also listens to this song a lot.
Sunil Dutt, Saira Banu and Mehmood starrer film Padosan was released in 1968. The song Ek Chatur Naar from this movie was well-liked. This song is sung by Kishore Kumar.
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