A Scene from Anahuta Sandhya

Many years ago, I heard a strange story. I was told, that there was this Bengali man (in New York or New Jersey)  who had a weird hobby. Although I don’t know if one can call this a hobby. This man, whenever he went on a trip to Kolkata, would put an advertisement in the matrimonial section of the local Bengali daily looking for a bride for himself. He would then go to a selected number of respondents house to interview the potential bride, enjoy their hospitality and a sumptuous meal.  But his intention was not to marry the girls he saw, for he had a wife and family back here in USA. I struggled hard to comprehend his motive. It was difficult to imagine that this man, who lived in USA, would do this only to enjoy a free meal each evening.  Was this some kind of a perverted adventure?  What was he looking for? What drove him to do such a terrible thing?  Although I am not sure if this story was true at all, but it intrigued me nevertheless. I thought, there must be more to this story than what meets the eyes (or ears). And this thought was the seed for my latest play, “Anahuta Sandhya”. Continue reading →

10. Theater is the most ancient performing art form.  Support it for its sustenance.

An Uninvited Evening

Although theater has survived over the ages, survived the onslaught of technology and competition from other media, it still needs support from the audience. So watch a live theater show and help this art form survive.

9.   Theater art is ephemeral. If you miss it, you may not get another chance. 

       A theater performance is born each day on the stage, and it dies on the stage. The next day, a new show is born. To catch this spontaneity, you must watch live theater. Video recordings of plays can only serve archival purpose, but it cannot replace live viewing. Continue reading →

The Pandavas going into exile

Duryodhana was not happy when Dhritarashtra returned the Pandavas their kingdom and all the wealth they had lost in the game of dice to Shakuni. So he and Shakuni came up with another plan. They invited Yudhistira back to Hastinapura and challenged him to play one last game of dice. But this time, the wager was different. It was proposed, whoever loses the game will have to go into exile in the forests for a period of twelve long years. After the twelve years of exile, they will have to stay in hiding for one more year. And in the thirteenth year, if anyone found them, they would have to go into exile for twelve more years.
But will Yudhistira accept this challenge knowing well that it was impossible to beat Shakuni in the game of dice? Or would he walk out to save himself and his brothers from this impending doom?

Listen to this exciting episode by clicking the link below.
You can also subscribe to the podcast on your smartphone or computer  from http://bhawmik.com/mahabharata.

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The future of our culture and our rich heritage lies in the hands of our next generation. Within our community, we have many talented artists, musicians, dancers and other performers. They all need encouragement and a platform to showcase their talent. Raag-Rang, a premiere organization of Indian Classical Music, arranges for such a concert every year where they scout for talented young artists and present them in a professional manner to the audience of New Jersey. The concert is aptly titled, “Kal Ke Kalakar” or the “Artist of Tomorrow.” This year, Raag-Rang announces “Kal Ke Kalakar” to be its first concert of 2015. The concert will be on 22ndMarch.

This year’s featured young musicians are Vibhas Vatve ( student of Shree Kedar Naphde) on harmonium solo,
Aditya Phatak ( student of Pt.Samir Chatterjee) on tabla solo.
Debolina Mukherjee ( student of Shree
Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay) on Hindustani vocal and
Bharat Natyam presentation Dashavataram Presentation by Priyanka Chowdhury, Sonali Desai, Chandni Patel, Anagha Shrikumar, Raagini Kandaswamy, Shreya Krishnan, Shruti Prasanth
students of Guru Shrimathi Selvi Chandranathan.

Date: Sunday, March 22nd, 2015
Time: 4:30-6:30 PM
Venue:
Balaji Temple Auditorium (HTCS)
1075 Route 202/206, Bridgewater, NJ 08807
For Directions Visit: www.venkateswara.org
Admission: Non-Members: $15
RaagRang Members: $10
RSVP will be appreciated.
Email: raagrang07@gmail.com
Phone: 732-570-3332, 908-429-1120