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METROSCAPE
Painting The Saint
It was the "molten" bhajans of Kumar
Gandharva that finally detonated the decades long picture block. Gulammohammed
Sheikh, 64, had been dreaming about the Sufi sage Kabir since his schooldays
but it was only two years ago that the Baroda-trained artist had the courage
to paint him. Sheikh's breakthrough was a result of some commonsensical
brainwashing with a self-directed rhetoric: "If he can sing Kabir,
why can't I paint him?" Sheikh, or his pictures, haven't been the
same since.
 At
his second exhibition of Kabir-inspired paintings on at Delhi's Vadehra
Art Gallery (to continue at Sakshi Gallery in Mumbai) Sheikh, getting
bolder, expands his scale from the smaller more vacuous formats done two
years ago to some large even more dramatic canvases of now. This time
the figures in the oils, like the double-headed deer are emblazoned on
an outlined head of the poet and become allegorical pawns in a wider observation
of conflict and hypocrisy. "A part of my intention of painting Kabir
is to offer a hero, an icon," says Sheikh, "and the large face
is intended to evoke the scale of popular heroes." The image of the
saint in all the works is mostly based on 18th century Mughal painting
showing the (slightly emaciated) poet sitting calmly with his doha-inscribed
parchments and his well-clothed disciples. (Gives you a reason why the
show is called Palimpsest.) Is Mira next?
-Anshul Avijit
 RIGHT
STEP: What good is a orchestra without a waltzing ball? So when the
36-member Viennese Chamber Orchestra (led by livewire Japanese conductor
Joji Hattori) hit favoured metros, Mumbai and Delhi, for a high-octane
concert at the Taj Mahal hotel and the Taj Palace hotel respectively,
it was complemented by a Viennese ball with tail-coat and ballroom-gown
dancing instructors. As the familiar The Blue Danube filled the air, enthusiastic
couples got to know a bit about the sublime art of not stepping on each
others' toes.
-Natasha Israni
 HAIR
AND THERE: Hair hit the headlines at the Sunsilk Image Studio when,
for three days, Indian hairstylists like Jawed Habib and Blossom Kochhar
and international ones like Tony Psomas and Nathalie Lassaigne got together
at the World Trade Centre to brainstorm on hair trends and demonstrate
their latest styles through live demos. The true blue action, though,
was reserved for the last day when hairstyles by salon representatives
and individual hairstylists competing in the "Salon Awards"
were shpowcased through a choreographed show using novice models. The
awkwardness showed. The saving grace of the show? The "Beautiful
Brides" sequence modeled by pros like Nethra Raghuraman and Vidisha
Pavate. Clad in designer Payal Singhal's western-styled traditional clothes,
they did a more decent job of showing off simple, elegant hairdos.
-Natasha Israni
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