Ceremonial Inauguration of Ms. Taken

Be it the puja or any other time, Bengali women do not forget to pamper themselves. Durga puja to Kali puja is the only time when they try to transform themselves to utmost beauties. As time goes by it can be seen that there are some changes in the dressing patterns of the Bengalis and the western wind has touched them which can be seen in their dresses. Bollywood star Kriti Sanon's outlet 'Ms.Taken' has come up with all such western collection at Shoppers Stop. Keeping in mind the upcoming festivities in Bengal this brand has debuted its outlet in Kolkata. Besides Kriti Sanon, the establishment's chief Shri Gopal Asthana was also present.

                                                                   (Reported and Images by Ashif Iquebal & Written by Somrita Das)

  

#Kriti_Sanon, #Kolkata, #Ms._Taken, #Durga_Puja_2017, #Vivid, #Creazione_Production

Indigenous Fashion from the waste

From Left - John Sengupta and Sharbari Dutta 

"Bajlo tomar alor benu" -- This song marks the arrival of Devi Durga. It marks the cleasining of all that is waste and signifies the start of something new. This is the sole concept that Inter National Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD) has taken up in their Pre-puja collection "ABAHON 2017". Just as mother Durga transforms all waste into wonderous forms, the students of INIFD has ressurected all waste easilu found around us into beautiful and breathtaking attires that does not fail to mesmerize us. Instead of using expensive materials to produce a rich range of clothing, the students of the fashion Design Department from INIFD has transformed the ordinary things in an elegant way that has the audience stupified. The icing on the cake was the presence of the eminent designer Sarbori Dutta who charmed the event with her presence. Being a humble person, Sarbori Dutta does not fail to indulge the students with her views as she pointed out ways for the students to improve in their own fields.

The collection shows the hard work that the students have put up for the show. Every project needs to be researched throughly and the way the students have designed their cloths, it can be said that their cloths speak for themselves. Their 'AGOMONI' collection is synonymous to the characteristics of the Adi Shakti as it signifies the inner strength of the women. The age old 'Lal Paar Shaada saree' has been portraed n a new form taing inspiration from every aspect of the Bengali life starting from the Taal patar pakha (Pam leaf hand fans). Decorated with 'frills, ruffels and motiys' the Bengali tradition has been well depictyed through these saaris. These saaris lived well upto their intentions of keeping the Bengali tradition alive and they serve as a reminder to modern day people who seems to have forgotten them.

Fashion Show

INIFD's next category 'Best out of the Waste' has been themed around the Phoenix, a mythical bird that takes birth from its own ashes. Phoenix is examplary to the fact that what we regard as waste can actually be beautiful and not something to throw away.  Students of this institute have proved that waste if treated properly, artistically and creatively can look beautiful. Thrown away packets of chips, thermocol plate and bowls, plastic waste bags, deflated balloons have never been made to look so enchanting. Through this category the students of INIFD have explored their creative side and expressed their thoughts just as a painter does with is tools on the canvas.

INIFD's next category Knit-Knots has taken our outlook on the simple day to day worn T-shirts to a whole new level. Daily wear boring T-shirts have been restructured to look trendy. This unimaginable fact is what the students have achieved, they have conquered the unconquerable. T-shirts have been made into a cape and sometimes a funky shrug, the sleeves have been given various cuts that make them look like expensive clothing but with a chick and ober look.

Sometimes we wonder what to do with all our old clothes. Every piece of clothing has a story and an emotional attachment. We neither want to throw them nor do we want to keep them. The students of INIFD comes to our rescue. Through their next category 'Metamorphosis' they revived the old clothes and revamp the wardrobe. Through unique combination of clothinh and style they show us how we can reuse our old cloths and look fashionable.

Fashion Show

Feminine grace is best emphasised with a saree and festivals in Bengal are incomplete withot them. Be it any occation or festivities all a woman wants is a saree. So, the students of INIFD has redefined sarees in their own unique way to make it popular among the youth by giving them a designer's touch and draping it in different styles to make it popular among the youth.

Magnamious designer Sharbari Dutta was impressed with the efforts of the students of INIFD. To her fashion is an way of expression by a designer just like a painter or a singer. Fashion designers do not only make clothes for the rich but it is the sole work of a designer to introduce a trend so that it can be worn by all people in general. Fashion designers should work towards growing the economy through their works. She takes her inspirations from various indigenous cultures of India and the Indian mythology. She intoduced coloured Dhotis taking inspiration from Lord Krishna who wore a yellow dhoti and is thus called Pitambar. Sharbari Dutta encouraged the students to keep up their work and experiment.

                                                                                                        (Reported, Written & Images by Somrita Das)

Come on India let's football....

The Winner's Trophy of
Fifa Under 17

Yes this tune is ringing everywhere in India... Earlier this craze in football was only centered around the clubs in a population of above 100 crore. If the country won it was only in small tournaments. But as soon as India got her chance to host the upcoming 2017 football World Cup, it gave a confidence to dream, to belief in the fact that yes we can also take part in Football World Cup. It does not matter if it is in the near 17. There is only a few days left for the World Cup to start. The inauguration ceremony of the World Cup trophy has already been done at Kolkata.  This ceremony was organised at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra. Eminent personalities like Sri Arup Biswas(the sport Minister of the state), Lakhsmi Ratan Shukla and many others were present there. India has got 10 matches to host along with the finals. The brilliant Vivekananda's Yuvabharati stadium is waiting to grab the balls... We too are waiting. Waiting to witness the first success of an magnanimous dream.

The Match Schedule of
Fifa Under 17 in Kolkata 

Aroop Biswas & Others
 at the event of Trophy Revelation

Juniors at Trophy Revelation event

(Reported and Images by Ashif Iquebal, Written by Arpon Das & Translated by Somrita Das)

Valderrama visited Kolkata

To the Bengalis 'Durga Puja' is their grandest festival and it's indications begins with the advent of the Mahalaya. Owing to this ritual Bengalis have another festival close to their spirts, the 'Footbal Festival'. And why will it not eb, after all football is Bengals chief game. Bengalis are meaningless without it. Along with the ensuing Durga Puja, Kolkatans are to witness a historical football match. The game will be played between Bengal's pride Sourav Ganguly, known to fans as 'Dada' and the football legend Maradona.The jersey for this historical match has been revealed by Carlos Valderrama at Dhulaiwala Match for Unity on 8th September at Fanattic Sports Museum, Eco Space.

Apart from this others present at the event were Satadru Dutta, Dibyendu Biswas and many more. Just as the Mahalaya announces the start of Devipaksha, Kolkatans are eagerly waiting and impatiently counting the days when Dada and Maradona will share the same field. Besides this he went to the Mohanbagan field and had a chat with Dada at Eden gardens. Apart from wishing well for the upcoming friendly football match, he also talked about the forthcoming 2017 Worldcup. 

মারাদোনা উৎসবের শুভ সূচনা 

 বাঙালি মতে তাদের শ্রেষ্ঠ উৎসব “দুর্গা পুজো” আর তার আগে তার সূচনা হয় থাকে মহালয় দিয়ে। ঠিক সেই রীতি মেনেই বাঙালিদের আরেক খেলার উৎসব “ফুটবল” আর হবে নাই বা কেনও কথাতেই আছে “সব খেলার সেরা বাঙালির তুমি ফুটবল”। আসন্ন দুর্গা পুজোর সাথে কলকাতা বাশি সাক্ষী হতে চলেছে একটি ঐতিহাসিক ফুটবল ম্যাচ এর মাধ্যমে। খেলা হবে বাঙালিদের গৌরব সৌরভ তথা দাদার সাথে ফুটবল কিংবদন্তী মারাদনার সাথে। আর সেই ঐতিহাসিক খেলাটি যে জেরসি পরে খেলা হবে সেটি উন্মোচন করে দিলেন কলম্বিয়ার কিংবদন্তী কার্লোস ভালদেরামা।এ ছাড়াও উপস্থিত ছিলেন সাতাদ্রু দত্ত, দিবেন্দু বিশ্বাস সহ আরও অনেকে। ঠিক এমন অভিনব ভাবে মহালয়ের পর জামন শুরু হয় দেবী-পক্ষ ঠিক তেমন ভাবেই ঢাকে কাঠি দিয়ে সূচনা হয় গেলো দিন গোনার পর্ব যখন দাদা র মারাদনাকে একসাথে দেখে যাবে কলকাতার মাঠে খেলতে। এ ছাড়াও তিনি মোহনবাগান মাঠে যান এবং সৌরভ গাঙ্গুলির সাথে ইডেন-এ গিয়ে সাক্ষাতও করেন। তিনি এইরকম একটি বন্ধুত্ব ম্যাচ এর জন্য শুভ কামনা ছাড়াও আসন্ন অনূর্ধ্ব-১৭ বিশ্বকাপ নিয়েও কথা বলেন।

(Reported and Bengali Write-up By Riddhi Bhattacharya , English Write-up by Somrita Das & Picture Source)

LoveGen fashion is now in KolkataProsenjit Chatterjee

Prosenjit Chatterjee

Don't you want to look more gorgeous and shine out from the crowd in a pocket-friendly range? If the answer is yes, then shopaholics, its the perfect time for you to fill your pockets and have a look at the brand new collections from LoveGen at Shoppers Stop Store, Acropolis Mall. The fashion stalwarts and founders of LoveGen Dolly Sidhwani, Bhavana Pandey and Nandita Mahatani unveiled their high street fashion on 13th September, for the first time in Kolkata in the presence of their special friends of tinsel town Raima Sen, Nusrat Jahan and Prosenjit Chatterjee. The trio make LoveGen unique and lovely by its vogue level availability of fashion and color sense in affordable range for the folks. Each collection of this high street fashion brand is remarkable and globally trending.

This collection contains dresses for chic-look like chic off-shoulder, one shouldered tops, easy to wear shirts, quirky slogan tees, bomber jackets, track suits, and sweat dresses with elements of glitz and glam. One can have dresses with vibrant pop colours like cherry yellow, tangy orange and also with muted tones and many more. So, why wait? Grab your own LoveGen clothing.

                                                         (Reported and Images by Meghdeep Gupta & Written by Ayana Chatterjee)

#Shoppers_Stop, #LoveGen, #Kolkata, #Acropolis_Mall, #Raima_Sen, #Prosenjit_Chatterjee, #Nusrat_Jahan, #Dolly_Sidhwani, #Bhavana_Pandey, #Nandita_Mahatani, #Fashion, #Chic_Look, #Vogue

The Story of a promising film-maker of India

 Poster of Roadside Scientist

Film-making is no doubt an art of appreciation. Bengali's are famous for their aesthetic sense. We are inspired from the films of maestros like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak. Today’s youth with the help of modern technology are very enthusiastic about the art of filmmaking. 

 Diganta Dey and team

Diganta Dey, a young and talented filmmaker is now known for his realistic documentary of a film named ‘Roadside Scientist'. The documentary narrates the story of the  life of Sukomol Basak who won the President Award for his innovation on water conservation as well as self dispensing water system. But even after this he lives in poverty in a distant village of North Bengal without the valuation or implementation of his work. 

This documentary is made with the typical emotions, that will lead you to think if life it is really about  ‘money over fame’ for all common man of India. 

Talking about the director it can be said that Diganta is emerging as a very promising director in India. His work was recently showcased by the Federation of Film Societies of India at Nandan on 28th August, 2017.

Shooting of Roadside Scientist

                                                                                             (Written By Ayana Chatterjee & Images by Source)

#Creazione_Production, #Diganta_Dey, #Roadside_Scientist, #Documentary_film, #India, #West_Bengal, #North_Bengal, #Satyajit_Ray, #Mrinal_Sen, #Ritwik_Ghatak

Stop at Shoppers Stop for the festival shopping

Bengali Actress Payel Sarkar, The Showstopper
at 'Shoppers Stop Sananda Pujor Bazar'

 Be ready for a sizzling start to this year's festive season with the glorious Bengali actress Payel Sarkar firing up the ramp at 'Shoppers Stop Sananda Pujor Bazar' festival at Shoppers Stop store in Acropolis mall. Actress Payel Sarkar along with other models magnificently showcased the latest Indian wear collection just perfect for the Pujo festivities. Shoppers Stop is hosting the 'Shoppers Stop Sananda Pujo Bazar' festival at all Shoppers Stop stores in the city starting from Forum Mall - Elgin road, City Centre - Salt Lake, South City Mall, City Center 2 - Rajarhat, Acropolis Mall at Rajdanga Main Road as well as the Shoppers Stop stores in Durgapur and Siliguri from August 22, 2017 onwards.

Shoppers Stop's private brand STOP, Haute Curry and Kashish did a great job at blowing minds with their intricately designed Indian wear that were unveiled and showcased in this captivating and vibrant fashion show. This years collection took the fashion up several notches as it displayed eclectic styles in brilliant colours and rich fabrics that perfectly fits the bill for all occasion including the Pujo season.

Actress Payel Sarkar was euphoric to participate in this event and ccommented, "Pujo is the perfect time to revamp your wardrobe and Shoppers Stop is the perfect destination for all that Pujo shopping! I'm delighted to be here at 'Shoppers Stop Sananda Pujor Bazar' festival. The Indian wear is gorgeous and elegant and I'm sure every shopper will have more than their fill of festive shopping at Shoppers Stop."

 

The Models at Sananda Shoppers Stop Pujor Bazar with Payel Sarkar 

Customers are the top priority at Shoppers Stop and to make their shopping time enjoyable with their family, friends and loved ones a multitude of offers, games, makeovers and the latest in fashion and glamour is being offered at 'Shoppers Stop Sananda Pujor Bazar' festival. Grand prizes has been arranged with lucky draws that is sure to take the customers breath away.

So if you are not satisfied with your wardrobe head on to Shoppers Stop to buy the best in fashion and experience a whole new world of festive spirit that stands to welcome the festivities in Kolkata.

(Reported and Images by Meghdeep Gupta & Written by Somrita Das)

Pro-Kabaddi is for juniors now

Shashank Wankhede grooming the teams at the Meet & Greet Session

Keeping in tune with the adults, now the juniors have secured their entry in the game of Kabaddi with the support of Star Sports “Pro Kabaddi Junior”. On 1^st September, Friday in the presence of Mr. Joseph Mathew, the Director of Indus Valley World School with Mr. Swapnil Purohit, the Senior-Producer of Star Sports organized a Meet-&-Greet session of “Pro Kabaddi Juniors”. It was an Inter-school Kabaddi competition The Director of Idus Valley World School said, “We are very glad to start up the session of “Pro Kabaddi Junior” in our school. I cordially appreciate this initiative taken by Star Sports. Eight of the Schools will participate in the Kabaddi match. The match will be held at Netaji Indore Stadium. I wish all the ^rd September, Sunday. A huge excitement for Kabaddi was seen among the junior. The flagging off of Inter-School Football Tournament was also done at the same event. 

 Indus Valley World School Pro- Kabbadi JuniorsTeam with their
coach at the Meet & Greet Session.

Participated teams for the final competition.” Schools like Pailan World School, DPS megacity, Khalsa English High School, South City International School, St. Sebastian School, P.B Academy School, Future Hope and I.V.W.S were the participating teams of “Pro Kabaddi Juniors”. Shashank Wangkhede and Amaresh Mondal, the former players of Bengal Worriers Kabaddi team were at the event to cheer the juniors’ souls up for Kabaddi. They also gave their valuable advice to the participants. By availing lottery facility the matches were fixed between the teams followed by- Indus Vally World High School vs. Khalsa English High School, DPS Megacity vs. St. Sebastian School, South City International School vs. Pailan World School and P.B Academy vs. Future Hope School. The match were on on 3rd September, Sunday. A huge excitement for Kabaddi was seen among the junior. The flagging off of Inter-School Football Tournament was also done at the same event. 

                                                  (Reported By Sanchari Chatterjee & Written By Ayana Chatterjee and Picture courtesy source)

 #Junior_Pro_Kabaddi, #Star_Sports, #Junior, #Interschool_Kabaddi_Competition, #Kolkata, #DPS_Metrocity, #Future_Hope,#Indus_Valley_World_School,#Khalsa_English_High_School,#Pailan_World_School,#DPS_megacity,#Khalsa_English_High_School,#South_City_International_School,#St._Sebastian_School,#P.B_Academy_School, #Future_Hope and #I.V.W.S,#Creazione_Production,#Subhojit_Ghosh,#Sanchari_Chatterjee,#Ayana_Chatterjee.

Kolkata Witnessed A Shining Saturday Evening With Gulzar

From left -  Shantanu Moitra, Sandip Ray, Gulzar 

Sampooran Singh Kalra - the Brightest Star Personality among the stars that India is proud of well known to his admirers by his pen name Gulzar. He is not only admired as a world famous Shayar (Poet) but he is also recognized for his contributions in various fields like film direction, lyrics writing and acting. Moreover he is a well-versed orator. In one word, he is the perfect combination of creative talents that makes him a legendary persona.

On 26th August, Saturday Nandan, Kolkata's film hub, was blessed with the aura of this great personality. On the evening of Saturday, Gulzar first inaugurated a photography exhibition themed around his entire life time memories. Music director Shantanu Moitra, actor Saswata Chattopadhyay, Rahul Banerjee, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, Antara Chowdhury and many other popular personalities’ presence took the Majlis (party) into a different level.The bonus achievement of the day was the launch of two of Gulzar’s books- one is “Pantbhaate", (the Bengali

Gulzar Saheb 

translation of the book has been done by Sanchari Mukherjee). This book depicts the golden experiences and memories with some renowned Bengali personalities like Satyajit Ray, R.D Burman, Kishore Kumar, Suchitra Sen, Uttam Kumar, Mahasweta Devi and so on. The name of second book is “Pluto” and Sk. Sadar Nayeem had translated the book in Bengali. Both books are published by Dey’s Publication. “Gulzarish”, another Bengali book on Gulzar was published in the same event. Poet Shankha Ghosh remarked on the book, “Pluto” by saying “Pluto, isn’t the name quite wondrous but why?” He said, “Pluto in galaxy is no more considered as a planet, Gulzar similarly, being apart from his 

From left - Shankha Ghosh, Gulzar Saheb, Shantanu Moitra,
Saswata Chattopadhyay, Sandip Ray

family writes so many short rhymes under the name of ‘Pluto’.” He also quoted, “Pluto was discovered in the year 1930 and Gulzar was born on 18th August, 1934; so he is four years younger than Pluto”. The second part of the show was “Guftagu with Gulzar”, a gossip session where personalities like Shantanu Moitra, Srijato, Sanchari Mukherjee, Sk. Sadar Nayeem took part and shared their experiences with Gulzar. The Guest of honour Gulzar ji also shared his experiences of life with audience. He made a remark about the current situation of the country saying that the time now is such that it is better to know the religion of others before revealing your own name. After that Sanchari Mukherjee read out some lines from the book “Pantabhaate” to the audience. She said,”I have tried my best to bring out the nostalgia of Pantbhaate from the core of my heart.” The whole thearte was filled with the astonishing recitations of Gulzar Saheb and Srijato. The huge participation by the people of Kolkata at the Nadan Premises to witness the presence of Living Legend Gulzar for once in their lifetime showed the love they had for this incredible legend.

From left - Gulzar Saheb, Sanchari Mukherjee

                        (Reporting by Sanchari Chatterjee,Written by Ayana Chatterjee & Picture by Ashif Iquebal)

WHAT’s THE 3rd????

3rd theater show

1st, 2nd and 3rd this is how the story goes. Talking about theatre, the first concept comes to mind is 1st theatre or folk theatre like Alkap, Kobigaan, Gombhira and 2nd theatre is also known as proscenium theatre adopted concept from British where a certain stage set up is formed and viewers sit in the dark place, from where they can only see the performance by actors. But 3rd theatre is something that is out of the box, it consists of both 1st and 2nd theatre can objectified this theatre as 3rd theatre, but 3rd theatre was there before it had its name. It appeals straightly to the audience.

3rd theater show

It can be performed anywhere, like in open road to stage. The artists neither need to act under the artificial light nor do they need high make ups. They go simple with some suggestive props and dresses for their plays. Concepts play a vital role in their play. Basically they select some progressive topics. Portable, flexible and inexpensive are the main 3 pillars of third theatre said by Badal Sarkar. The first experimental work of Badal Sarkar was Sagina Mahato at ABTA hall was highly praised by theatre lovers.

Badal Sarkar

Badal Sarkar introduced himself not as a Director, but as a theatre-worker. His Team members have equal liberty. Satabdi follows the same path of Badal Sarkar. 3rd theatre shares the stage with viewers; it creates direct relation with the audience. It can be said that Badal Sarkar is the man who gave the voice to 3rd theatre where his research paper was also submitted by this name. Badal got involved with 3rd theatre from the year 1974 fully fledged. The 3rd theatre group demands no money for their performance. They only ask for the travel expense from parties. Performance never stops for any monetary causes. Even their production cost is the minimum. They do not accept any sponsorship and do not have any ticket for their shows. At the end of the performance they place a piece of cloth in front of audiences to make them contribute money according to their will. This art form needs a limited area for their acts. If they do not get enough space to perform they arrange sits for the audience at stage. 3rd theatre travels to infinity.

3rd theater show

             (Written By Ayana Chatterjee and Reporting & Picture By Subhojit Ghosh)

#Badal_Sarkar,#Probir_Guha,#Satabdi,#Director,#Theater,#Third_Theater,#3rd_Theater,#Group_Theater,#Alkap,#Kobigaan,#Gombhira,#ABTA,#ABTA_Hall,#Sagina Mahato,

Roamer - Performer with no Barrier

A mere source of entertainment can be turned into a weapon to generate awareness and Theater is one of those. Whenever the term “theater” is coined, our mind signifies a stage with spotlights, set, props, bunch of performing actors and music, but if there is no certain stage to perform, no certain script to follow, still its a Theater form- Is that really possible?

Lucky Gupta Performance

Here the magic begins with the essence of Kashmir …A personality named

Lucky Gupta makes this theater act possible every time flawlessly. From the year 2001 Lucky Gupta is involved in this kind of theater performance professionally. He goes solo in his acts and that makes his performance extraordinary. The feature of plays to deliver message in story-telling manner,

highly attracted him to dedicate himself into acting. In his performances, he has no need of any props, makeup and he has as such no so called group to perform with. He collects his props from the crowd and involves his audiences into the part of his drama. Theater is for him the best medium to reach people with proper expression. Lucky Gupta finds no definite name of the theater art form of his own.  Neither it follows Intimate theater form nor does it blindly follow 3rd theater form. The reason behind he wished to perform companion-less act. This Kashmiri artist strongly feels that theater does not demand so-called stage set-up, it can be executed even under the bare sky. Technical usage means nothing in his acts. Lucky Gupta thinks even a stranger can teach lessons.

Lucky Gupta Performance

Lucky Gupta Performance

                         (Written by Ayana Chatterjee and Reported & picture by Subhojit Ghosh)

RENOVATION of TRADITION (AKHRA)

 

ALT at Jhargram for understanding Macbeth 

India has the longest and richest tradition in Theater going back to at list 500 years. Natyasastra written by Bharatmuni in between 2000 B.C-4^th Century A.D was the earliest and most elaborate treatise on dramas. The traditional account in Natyasastra gives a divine origin to Indian Theatre attributing it to Panchaveda, a combination of 4 Vedas created by Lord Bramha. Theatre in India started as a narrative form- reciting, singing, dancing and acting was an integral part of this Theatre.  The first phase of Indian Theatre are the Folk and Traditional Theatre. These were mainly singing and recitation-based and did not accompany any complicated gestures of movements and elements of dance.

Live music creation for Theatre performance by ALT

A few examples of this type of Theatre are Rasleela, Ramleela and Nautanki. The second phase of the evolution of Theatre in India is Sanskrit phase which were mainly based on Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and semi-historical place; they were based strictly based on the rules led out by ancient dramatic traits. The 200 years of British rule brought the Indian Theatre to the direct contact with Western Theatre giving birth to the modern or proscenium style of Theatre. This took over to Folk form of Theatre which continued to survive. Various Theatre group in India are working towards giving it a new look by blending together the traditional and modern elements of Theatre.

(AKHRA)

“Akhra” has grown up in North 24 Pargana district formed by the group Alternative Living

Probir Guha, The Director &  Script Writer of ALT

Theatre. It is situated in Madhyamgram, Ramakrishna Pally. ‘Alternative Living Theatre’- the name of different way of living life by theatre. The plot has two main sections. 1st section is known as “Gol-Ghor” (round space), where members of ALT rehearse their performances and many Theatre Artists across the globe come to ALT to perform and share their views to the members. Second section is a L- shaped home where they store their props and sometimes enthusiast members live there too. They are looking forward to transform Gol-Ghor into a Daily Show afterward. According to the ideology of ALT, the members consider Theatre as a weapon to express their social-political strata. In 2008, Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee winner and the architecture of the popular theatre group ALT Probir Guha guides his members with extensive care, just like potter gives shapes to the clay,

Rehearsal at Golghar by ALT

 Probir Guha makes his artists in this way. This theatre  not only speaks about acting or expressing talents but it also teaches how to be a human with proper Humanity. To protest against the social and political issues with different aspects is the main motto of ALT. Probir Guha thinks that Body movement or gestures is the main language which has no barriers, everybody may not be able to understand every human languages. ALT is driven by the thought of reaching people with higher quality theatre in less expense. This kind of theatre adopts some of the concepts of 3rd theatre. ’The world is the stage’ is the slogan of ALT as they do not need so called stage setup to perform but they create their stage by their performances.

ALT at Jhargram for understanding Macbeth

Sometimes using folding or movable stage system. They select their topic of plays from real events then they decide plots and arrange the whole story by discussions where every member is free to give their opinions. Nowadays, the locality is getting more populated so the atmosphere of ALT also facing the noise. After finalizing the concepts they explore barren lands or no man's lands and live there in tents for their real life experience for the story. They think fresh air and silence can bring greater objective to them. Just like saints go for meditation to fulfill their wishes, the members follow the same for their performances. After making the concept outline

Rehearsal at Golghar by ALT

they go straight to “Akhra” in Madhyamgram, for rehearsal to fulfill the concept body. Apart from acting section, ALT uses both recorded and live music produced by both musicians and group members. Creativity section partly designs the props like masks used in stage, interior designs, and dresses excluding purchased materials. Just like, crisis makes a man perfect, after conquering over so many hurdles, now Alternative Living Theatre has its own proud voice. It’s only the beginning of ALT to continue their breath-taking experiment in their every performance.

 (Reported and Images by Subhojit Ghosh & Written by Ayana Chatterjee )

Digitally sufficient?

 The 21st century is an era of technological wonders and digitization. India is pushing her limits to embrace the domains of digitization. But as India takes a step towards building a cashless economy and engaging the whole of India through the government's 'Digital India' scheme, Bharat seems to be in a plight to come out of its orthodox nature and embrace the modern viewpoint. 

Bharat usually refers to the rural India in which resides more than half of the country's population. The erratic internet connection, low level of proliferation of smartphones and most importantly the lack of trust in online transactions owe to the problems of dizitalizing of Bharat. Banking and Internet are a new concept to them and the fear of the unknown grasps them specially in case of cashless transaction. A large part of the people are illiterate and daily labours who earn in small amounts and are in a hand to mouth situation. To them having a bank account and going to all the banking fiasco is a waste of their valuable time. They go more for earning than for learning. Cashless economy is the backbone of a developed nation. So how will India develop if Bharat thinks that the use of mobile wallets and ATM cards (plastic money) is a complete waste of time. Even if they have smartphones with 3G facility they are unwilling to use e-wallets out of the fear that their money will vanish. People are happy using Facebook and WhatsApp on their phone and even surfing the internet but they are adamant in not using the online money.

Government is trying its best to educate the rural India through various interactive programs and has made a small progress. But it is needed to ensure the safety of online transactions. Nobody wants to part with their hard earned money to some fraud company. The government needs to ensure that efficient steps would be taken in minimal time in such cases. They need to conduct programs to teach people how to identify between a genuine and a fraud company while transacting online. But the most important thing to do would be to educate the mass as fast as is rationally possible. For it is this illiteracy that is stopping the rural mass from going online.

However, all is not lost as two villages in India viz. Akodara and Narshinghapur have already earned the coveted title of being digital villages. Digitization is more of an evolutionary process than a choice. The demonetization if not anything else has helped create new bank account and has rendered the inactive accounts operative. It has forced people to learn the banking system. The Reliance group is launching 4G enabled cheap feature phones to help the rural mass connect to the internet. Lastly it is very important to say that not only the government but it is also our duty to help digitally ignorant people learn the system.

                                                     

                                                                                                                                                         (Article by Somrita Das)

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