Events

Titled `Shivaji: a hero of modern India', it will be organised by Gautier's Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism (FACT) and comprises over 60 miniatures in tempera, oil and acrylic on the life and times of the legendary Maratha warrior.

This is Gautier's most ambitious historical project yet. It took him three years to get the paintings done from artists based in Rajasthan. The exhibition was inaugurated in Delhi last November, and later travelled to Mumbai and Bangalore.

"We hope to see the maximum number of visitors in Pune because of the strong connection between Chhatrapati Shivaji and the city," says Gautier. As for the reason behind organising the exhibition, he states, "When I first came to Pune a few years back, I was quite disappointed by the lack of information available in the city on Chhatrapati Shivaji."

That's when he decided to put up an exhibition that would highlight not only the Maratha warrior's extraordinary achievements, but also lesser-known facts related to his style of governance and personality.

From Shivaji's historic meeting with Bijapur army general Afzal Khan in 1659 to Baji Prabhu's sacrifice to save his leader's life in 1660 and Shivaji's nocturnal attack on Shaista Khan, the Mughal governor of the Deccan, in Pune in 1663, the exhibition covers it all.

There are several intriguing facts about Shivaji that many are unaware of. For instance, he was the first Indian king to have a full-fledged naval fleet. He even introduced a modern system of administration through his council of ministers.

The exhibition also includes maps depicting Shivaji's kingdom that spread all the way to south India. The paintings will be supported by explanatory charts in Hindi and English.

Kalmadi, who was also the Chairman of CYG organising committee said the week-long event in which about 2000 athletes from 71 Commonwealth countries participated, would augur well to establish the city's reputation as a well equipped stage for international tournaments.

One of the positives of the Pune Games was the availability of world class sports complex in the form of Chhatrapati Shivaji Sport City that came up for CYG with an investment of around Rs 3000 crore, Kalmadi, told reporters in an interview.

For instance, Pune can boast of the best international badminton complex in the Sport City which showcased as many as nine disciplines, he added.

President of International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jaques Rogge and President of Commonwealth Games Federation, Michael Fennel who saw for themselves the CYG venue were immensely impressed, said Kalmadi.

Many countries have already approached us to avail of the training facilities at the Sports City which promises to be a good source of income, he added.

The CYG crack team will be deputed to handle a bigger challenge in hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi which would be on a larger scale covering around 20 disciplines.

The Pune event is a trailer for the bigger event in the national capital.

A lot of acrimony at civic political level was witnessed in the run-up to the CYG fixture in this cultural capital of Maharashtra and IT Automobile hub of the country.

It reached a feverish pitch when Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar supported the decision of the NCP-Shiv Sena-BJP ruled Pune Municipal Corporations (PMC) decision to veto Kalmadi's proposal seeking a grant of an additional Rs five crore from the civic body for cultural display at the Games venue.

"Why should we spend city tax payers money on this when sufficient funding is being made at government level?" was the question asked by those opposing the proposal.

The ruling Pune Pattern combination of parties denoting the odd coming together of secular NCP and saffron brigade also accused Kalmadi of trying to derive a political mileage out of the prestigious sporting event with a personal projection in its organisation and propagation.

"It is the first time in the history of Indian theatre that the tickets for a play will be made available online," said Damle, who is also involved in the production of the play. The producer on the credits list is Prashant Damle Fan Foundation, an NGO he founded.

Initially, only some tickets for shows in Pune and Mumbai will be sold online. "It is being done on an experimental basis and only a few tickets will be sold online," Damle said.

Dimakh Sahasrabuddhe of Dimakh Consultants has developed the procedure. "One has to log on to the site, which has the information on dates and times. The buyer can choose a ticket from a chart of seats displayed on a website. Payments can be made by credit card. A computer printout will serve as a ticket at the theatre," Damle said.

"The idea is to help customers save time. They can buy tickets at home or at a cyber café instead of travelling all the way to the theatre," he said.

"Olakh Na Palakh is a comedy thriller. I have done comedy earlier, but a comedy thriller is a first for me. Suresh Jayram has written the script and Mangesh Kadam is directing the play," said Damle. Damle plays the lead role alongside Purnima Bhave-Talwalkar, Pari Telang and Mangesh Kadam.

To be held at least once a month, `Dhara' will feature programmes on poetry, music, dance and theatre. The initiative began informally three months ago with a poetry recital by Rajesh Joshi at the FTII some three months, which was well-received by the students and the general public.

Explaining the purpose behind the initiative, FTII director Pankaj Rag stated, "Filmmakers are required to interact with various things around them. The series has thus been started with the intention of broadening their skills."

Coming up on the `Dhara' horizon are a string of dance performances. Veteran Odissi danseuse Sonal Mansingh will have a lecture-demonstration and a recital in September. Next up is noted Kathak dancer Kumkum Dhar, who will perform sometime in late September or October. Dancer Donna Ganguly is slated to present an Odissi performance in December.

Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, organiser Anant Prabhu said the concert is the first programme by Swarsandhaan and will mark the formal inauguration of the group.

CMS is a national research and advocacy organisation. The film festival is a part of its 3rd environment and travelling wildlife film festival series.

The city will host the three-day festival starting December 5. It will be held at Bal Gandharva Rangamandir and S.M. Joshi Hall besides other cultural centres and clubs. The theme for the festival is `climate change'.

Atul Patwardhan, secretary of International Cultural Exchange and one of the organisers of the film festival, said, "The film festival will explore regional and local environmental concerns. The festival, besides screening 40 award-winning films and the best CMS Vatavaran documentaries, will also hold discussions on the changing climatic conditions. There will also be two symposiums on conservation, livelihood security and water."

The festival will also comprise an exhibition on climate change, a photography exhibition, a climate expo and a film bazaar.

The festival will be held in eight cities across the country, Pune being one of them. For more details, visit www.cmsvatavaran.org.

This was announced at a press conference addressed jointly by Dilip Band, Municipal Commissioner, Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation, and Vikram Salunkhe, Chairman, MCCIA ( Mahratta Chambers of commerce, agriculture and industries) Sub-committee on SME units.

" About 80 companies have registered themselves for the exhibition, out of which 35 are MNCs," said Salunkhe, " The exhibition will not display any finished products, such as cars or automobile components, but rather the technology that goes into the various processes of car manufacturing," he clarified.

Speaking about the support which the government is providing, Dilip Band said that PCMC had provided 15 crores to the ACDRI( Auto cluster Development and research institute), under whose aegis the show is being organized. "The ACDRI is committed to providing technical support to small and medium scale auto component manufacturers which may not have the resources to invest in advanced technology," Band emphasised, although he added that the facility has been used by companies such as Tata in their development work for the X1 and the Nano.

"Solutions for Automotive Manufacturing" is the theme of the event. It will showcase high-end technology solutions in robotics, automation, engineering services, painting and welding solutions and machine tools for the automotive industry.

The four-day event will have displays of technology by automotive technology vendors such as L &T, Siemens, PARI robotics, Honeywell Automation and Mituyoto.

And, while many of us do not even have the time to admire a one or two rupee coin, around 25 connoisseurs from all over India will showcase their collection of coins in the city for four days as part of an exhibition titled `India and neighbouring countries' currency'. The annual event of the city-based Numismatic Society of Maharashtra will be held from May 1 to May 4. It will display more than 80 rare coins and currency notes from India, besides a huge collection of currencies from countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Thailand.

A coin from the Buddhist period, currency notes of 25, 35 and 75 denominations, a Rs 100 note manually signed by the governor of Bombay Presidency J.A. Ballard in 1859, a note which marks 60 years of the royal rule in Thailand are some of the rare treats which will be on display at the exhibition.

"A rare Indian currency was auctioned at Rs 12 lakh in Singapore last year," informs D.G. Angal, secretary of the society. Such is the importance of coin collection! The exhibition is an attempt to create public awareness about the country's history and encourage the hobby of coin collection, he added.

The exhibition will be held at Sanskurik Bhavan Hall on Senapati Bapat road from 10 am to 7 pm on all the four days.

Now, the library, which is celebrating its 103 rd anniversary year, has organised a book exhibition to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 1857 war of independence called the `Sepoy Revolt'.

The exhibition was inaugrated on Thursday by eminent historian and secretary of Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, S.M. Bhave. The book show does not have an entry fee and will be open to visitors from 10 am to 5 pm everyday, except on Sundays and public holidays till May 10 -- which is the concluding day of the nation-wide celebration of the 1857 war.

Deepali Garge, a visitor at the exhibition and a member of the library was all praise for the selection of books. "The data collection here includes various reports of the Reserve Bank of India and NCDC, which are not easily available."

The first family of Santoor, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and his son, Rahul, will perform live at the Ganesh Kala Krida Kendra at 6 am. Given the fact that the two have not performed together for a long time, this is indeed is a treat for Puneites. They will be accompanied by percussion aces Pandit Anindo Chatterji on tabla and Pandit Bhavani Shankar on pakhawaj.

The concert is being held to help Bharat Vikas Parishad (BVP), the NGO working in the field of the physically challenged. TOI spoke to the duo over the phone on Tuesday. Explaining the reason why father and son don't play together, Shivkumar said, "We simply decided to concentrate on our solo performances. However, as this is a noble cause, we decided to team up. Says Rahul, "I wanted to grow and find my own style, through my own albums and tours. Since this is working out, we play together only occasionally."

The exhibition will be open for public between 9.30 am and 5 pm on both days.

NCRA dean Prof D J Saikia said, "Since the last few years, NCRA has been celebrating the science day through exhibition at Khodad for the interest of com mon people and especially the school-children. For the first time this year, a number of science organisations have been roped in and they will be putting up information stalls at the exhibition. Next year, we will also invite the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to participate in the event."

The participating organisations and institutes include, Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), various departments from the University of Pune including Geology, Zoology and Geography, Jyotirvidnyan Parishad, Kalpana Chawla Centre for Science in Karad, National Aids Research Institute (NARI), National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), amongst a few.

The administrative officer of GMRT, J K Solanki said that about 50 schools are going to participate in the exhibition and the participants would be given certificates for that. On February 29, renowned astrophysicist Dr Jayant Naralikar will deliver a lecture there.

NCRA has built and operates the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope which is the most powerful radio telescope operating at low radio frequencies. It is a national facility and is being used by astronomers across the world, leading to several significant discoveries.

NCRA has also built and operates the Ooty Radio Telescope, which is a large cylindrical telescope located near Udhagamandalam.

Director of Board of Colleges and University Development (BCUD) Dr Pandit Vidyasagar inaugurated the seminar. "Developing countries should not undergo the process of globalisation blindly if they want to protect themselves from exploitation by the developed countries," he said.

Dr BSR Rao, dean and director of International Institute of Insurance an Finance, Osmania University delivered key note address. Experts Dr Santosh Dastane, Dr Rajas Parchure, Dr Bashir Ahmed Khan, Dr Sriraman, Dr Phiroz Poonawala also deliberated on the positive and negative sides of the globalisation.

The panel consisted of playwright and acamedician G.P. Deshpande, IT honcho Ravi Pandit, actor Lalan
Sarang, actor Dr Girish Oak and owner of Pathfinder Adv Pradeep Khire. Each one had a unique experience with books that shaped their life--knowingly or unknowingly--for the better.

Pandit said that reading Ayn Rand during his final days in college had a big impact on him. "For that matter, even reading the Economist has helped me improve my managerial skills," he noted.

On the other hand, G.P. Deshpande opined that he owes his command on Marathi language to his habit of reading `abhangs' of saints and poets. "There were days when I read at least 25 abhangs each day. Even today, I do not go to sleep without reading some thing," he told the audience.