MY Articles

Bengaluru : Octogenarian Swamy Achar, well-known as M S Achar in close Gandhian circles of yesteryear, is an epitome of selfless service, honesty, commitment, and sacrifice, quite unfamiliar and equally strange words to the present generation. The paradox or tragedy of his life is that the "Gandhian institution", for which he dedicated the prime period of his life for a meagre or meaningless salary, disturbed his personal life, put him into a series of hardships, and literally threw him on the streets. A glistening white attire all along:  Thanks to his association with several organisations related to Gandhian principles, M S Achar started wearing a white Khadi shirt and trousers, right from a very young age. He continues to do so to date, and is often seen in glistening white attire, stitching his own undergarments as well! Native of Mandya district:  M S Achar was born in Hagaduru village of Malavalli Taluk in Mandya district, to Mrs Siddamma and Siddacharya. The couple ha...

DILI, TIMOR-LESTE: Nawab Mir Najaf Ali Khan, grandson of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, recently visited Timor-Leste as part of an Indian delegation exploring new opportunities for business, investment and bilateral cooperation. The visit assumes significance at a time when Timor-Leste is seeking to expand its international economic partnerships and strengthen engagement with countries such as India. Nawab Najaf Ali Khan’s participation brought together a distinctive combination of India’s historical legacy, business interests and people-to-people diplomacy. Nawab Najaf Ali Khan is a prominent member of the erstwhile Hyderabad royal family and has been associated with heritage conservation, social initiatives and the preservation of the legacy of the Nizam dynasty. He is also the President of the Nizam Family Welfare Association. His public engagements have frequently focused on Hyderabad’s cultural heritage and the contribution of the Nizam dynasty to education, he...

Dharwad:  Recently, was in Dharwad to attend the three-day exhibition, lecture cum demonstration, slide show and interaction program of Prof Babu Jattakar, veteran artist and former Principal, College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat, Bengaluru.  Gods become alive in   brass,   copper,   silver, and gold:  During an informal interaction, Prof S K Pattar, Principal of Government College of Fine Arts, Dharwad, made a casual reference to his former student Naveen Shankarrao Kadlaskar, who has made a big name in sculpting the idols of Gods in brass, copper, silver, and gold. The way he was dealt with made me curious to know more and meet him. However, repeated calls were met with switched-off mode messages. This exercise went on for a couple of days. Work pressure compels to switch off the cell phone:  On the third day, Naveen Shankarrao Kadlaskar sprung a surprise and turned up and revealed the reasons behind switching off his cell phone. ...

Davanagere:  Shivashankar Sutar, veteran artist and guest faculty member at the University Visual Arts College in the Kala Gangotri campus, recently held a one-man show of his abstract paintings at the Drushyavishwa Kala Gallery here. The solo show drew a huge response from the fine art students, teachers, artists, and art lovers. Lizard,   a favourite in most of the paintings:  Just like fishes in Chi Su Krishna Setty's paintings and horses in painting wizard M F Hussain's artworks, Shivashankar Sutar has developed a close proximity with lizard. He has exhibited 80 paintings, including 22 graphic paintings. By and large, you can find the common house lizard in most of his abstract paintings. Various people have different kinds of opinions and notions about the common house gecko, but not Shivashankar Sutar. Invariably, it is omnipresent in most of his abstract paintings! A variety of colors and compositions:  Prof L K Hanumantachar, former Principal of the Universi...