Art Happenings: Kerala; Mumbai; Pongal in Chennai

I have been traveling in the past weeks, attending art events and connecting with Beauty of Water supporters.

On January 12 I had the pleasure of seeing Santhan's solo show opening at Kashi Art Café in Fort Kochi. Enthusiasts from near and far came to see his wonderful works, including Terry Berger, shown with more beloved friends and Beauty of Water supporters, from left to right, Ruth, Sylvi, Henry, Terry, and Adam. Terry also recorded Santhan's show, and included its *written documentation on Santhan's website, which Terry built last year.

In Chennai I experienced Pongal, the harvest festival that brings five times the number of people to the beach as compared with what may be seen in this photo I snapped from a bus.

In Mumbai Rajan Krishnan opened oRe/Substances of Earth-I at the newest Bodhi Art Gallery. This amazing work was in progress in December when I visited the terra cotta studio and got to make a couple of clay pieces, as described in an earlier posting. Unfortunately the gallery's website does not show Rajan's three- and four- dimensional works (there is an installation that includes a film). If I find images online I will post a link.

Friend, writer (formerly for The Hindu), and wife of Rajan, Renu Ramanath, is keeping an arts blog that is well worth a visit called SpaceOut, listing the cultural events happenings in Kerala, with programme announcements, reviews and links. *Renu authored the documentation for Santhan's show.

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Sreeja's Play

My good friend Sreeja is a playwrite here in Kerala and she and her amazing people staged an original play recently in Kalamassery, near Kochi where I've been staying lately. These sixteen photos capture the spirit of costumes, colors, action, and drama, including post-show fun, albeit with photographic challenges due to the low lighting and no flash. The theme has to do with a young woman's choices about how she will live her life after the death of her husband. Sreeja is wearing a yellowy orange top with pink and red necklaces. Santhan and I and some of the beautiful small girls shown here, performers each in her own right, took these pictures.

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Alleppey

Many people know about the backwaters of Kerala, in the vicinity of Cochin and Alleppey. I spent some time there last week, and the scenery and ambiance were exquisite. The water, as you can see in these eight photos, while full of life, is calming to the soul. This man was treating his boat with fish oil.

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Trek in Periyar Tiger Reserve

I had the great pleasure of trekking for a few hours in the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Thekkady, next to Kumily where I have been staying for the past weeks. These twelve images taken by Santhan and me show much better than I can write of the pristine beauty in this well cared for reserve, and the amazing light all around. The picture that looks like mud is actually a recent print from a young tiger.

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Gallery Red Frog 'Elephant' Art Opening

Gallery Red Frog, which opened in Kumily last September, presented a new show entitled 'Elephant' that drew a crowd for the opening last night. These twenty-one images capture some of the spirit of the event, along with most of the contributing artists themselves. Bravo, Red Frog and Santhan, who curated this show. The Gallery Red Frog website features some of the elephant images as well as at least one previous show. Manu, gallery owner, and artists Shaji, Martin, and Santhan are shown here relaxing after all the hard work they put in to prepare for the opening.

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