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The French Gallery at the Alliance Francaise (AF) Ahmedabad was packed with the city’s glitterati and expatriate crowd on Friday for the opening of Wakaliwood, Slum Cinema Studio, a photographic exhibition by Frederic Noy. Speaking on the occasion, AF Ahmedabad President Pavan Bakeri compared Noy with Henri Cartier-Bresson, another great French photojournalist, who played a major role […]
Earlier this year, when Aruna and Ganesan Raghuram moved out of their apartment in Ahmedabad’s Vastrapur area to a retirement community in Bangalore, it made for a big change in their lifestyle. Their 3 BHK apartment in Serene Urbana, near the Bangalore airport, is smaller than their 4 BHK flat in Ahmedabad, but it has […]
Everytime the city adds a new building code, it increases the costs of construction and makes housing less affordable for the poor, says Bimal Patel, President of CEPT University. Speaking at the release of the book “Decoding Mumbai: 18 Graphical Case Studies of the City’s Building Codes,” on Friday, Dr Patel said that slums are the result […]
How do you solve a problem like Ashneer Grover? Borrowed from The Sound of Music song, the line best describes the Indian business establishment’s reaction to Grover’s recent book, Doglapan. I have asked several CEOs what they think of the book and most of them just shake their head in disapproval and mutter something that sounds like what […]
Sangitaben Vinodbhai Patni, 30, was diagnosed with Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and prescribed a regimen of 11 tablets a year ago. A resident of Kumbhaji ni Chali, a slum colony in Meghaninagar, she had never taken tablets in her life and she initially found the prospect of taking so many pills daunting. Many of the […]
Using samples from archaeological sites, scientists have found that all South East Asians are descended from the Harappan civilisation. Archaeologist and author Vasant Shinde who played a lead role in the excavation of Harappan sites like Rakhigarhi in Haryana, believes this data can serve to unite the nation. Addressing a session on “The Tools of […]
Author Devdutt Pattanaik is a thought leader when it comes to Indian culture. Using stories from ancient Hindu mythology to interpret everyday social practices, he provides perspectives that are truly unique. In an exclusive interview with VO! on the eve of the Holi, Devdutt talks about the myths that surround the festival, the eroticism associated […]
How addictive is social media? Is it responsible for anxiety and mental illness? Is it a happy democracy or an evil dictatorship? These were but some of the issues raised in a lively discussion on Digital Narcissism at the Alliance Francaise (AF) Ahmedabad on Wednesday. The audience actively participated in the proceedings from the onset, […]
Jayshree Lalbhai is planning to rev up the Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum (KLM) this year, with a series of contemporary shows that promise to invigorate Ahmedabad’s cultural life. Chatting with VOI! at the inauguration of the exhibition “Paper: A Cross Cultural Voice,” Ms Lalbhai said the Arvind Indigo exhibition, which occupies one whole building and has been on […]
The Scholar Loan portfolio of the SBI branch in the IIMA campus, which comprises of loans extended to students of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), has touched Rs 340 crore. SBI recently increased the Scholar Loan limit from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. SBI is the only bank with a branch […]
In this age of heightened diversity, a lot people are curious as to what makes those-not-like-us tick. Earlier, the differences were around nationality, religion, language. Today, there’s a new kind of diversity that Indians are learning to deal with, and that is sexuality. As more and more LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) people come […]
A Bharatnatyam performance by Rukmini Vijayakumar proved to be a big draw on the 11th day of the Saptak Music Festival at the LD Arts College, Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The 41-year-old danseuse, who has acted in several movies, the latest release being Sita Raman (in Tamil and Telugu), built her performance around the theme of Krishna, […]
The last time I met RS Sodhi in Anand was in 2019, when he introduced me to the then Chief Operating Officer (COO) Kishore Zala, who was to take charge as Managing Director of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Federation (GCMMF) when Sodhi retired later that year. The visiting card Zala handed me even said “managing […]
Deepak and Ragini Maharaj, son and granddaughter of the Late Birju Maharaj made their debut at the Saptak Music Festival on Monday, with a lively, interactive Kathak performance. Pandit Birju Maharaj, who passed away in January 2022, was scheduled to perform at last year’s Saptak, but alas, the festival was cut short by a resurgence […]
Rakesh Chaurasia, nephew and student of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, left the audience breathless with his mastery of the flute on Saturday, Day 7 of the Saptak Music Festival at LD Arts College, Ahmedabad. He was accompanied by young Yeshwant Vaishnav on the tabla. Clad in a blue kurta with gold embroidery, the flautist played Raag […]
Former global CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, Rakesh Kapoor, has donated a sum one-million-pound sterling (equivalent to Rs 10 crore) to his alma mater Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) Pilani. The announcement was made today at the BITS Global Meet that is currently under way in Jaipur. According to BITS vice chancellor Souvik Bhattacharya, […]
Clad in a black cardigan and red silk sari, Vidushi Shubha Mudgal made magic on Friday, Day 6 of the Saptak Music Festival, singing light classical khayals, thumris and dadras, accompanied by Aneesh Pradhan on the tabla and Sudhir Nayak on the harmonium. Often referred to as the rock star of classical music, the 63-year-old […]
Last year, Hariprasad Chaurasia was one of the few major stars to play live at the Saptak Music Festival before it was shifted on-line because of a resurgence of Covid. He took the opportunity to crib about the mahol of social distancing, masks and the night curfew that obliged him to start his performance at an early […]
Audience numbers swelled to standing-room-only on the second day of the Saptak Music Festival at LD Arts College on Monday. The highlight of the evening was a performance by vocalists Suman and Apurva Ghosh, who sang a “Jasrangi Jugalbandi,” inspired by Pandit Jasraj. Accompanied by Paromita Mukherjee on the harmonium and Ramkumar Mishra and Sapan […]
The 43rd edition of the Saptak Annual Music Festival took off in high gear on Sunday, with a dazzling performance from Parveen Sultana. The Padma Vibhushan awardee was in full flow with her rendering of the ever-popular Rag Jog, followed by a Bandish Thumri. The vocalist was very ably accompanied by Akram Khan on the tabla […]
