INCURABLE OPTIMIST: Hashmi

As the daughter of one of the greatest Urdu poets Faiz Ahmed Faiz, it was but natural for people to expect poetry to come as spontaneously to Salima Hashmi as it did to her father. But she chose art, though not consciously, and considers it an extension of wordplay. What she inherited from Faiz was love and "incurable optimism". Hashmi, who was in the capital recently to launch a cd-rom titled Faiz: Aaj Kay Naam, believes adverse circumstances leads to the creation of the most potent work. Yet despite the afflictions and the changing muse-as was with her father who metamorphosed from romance to realism-the constant factor in both their works is "a vision of a breakthrough in the darkest times". No wonder then that Hashmi, who is also the principal of Lahore's National College of Art, believes literature, music and art can build bridges between India and Pakistan.

-Mridula Chettri Singh

Gold Label

PAST COLOURS: Bahulkar at the show

Colours of nostalgia dominate Suhas Bahulkar's paintings. Sepia and gold tinge each of the 25 works on display, till December 6, in his Footprints of Destiny series at Art Today, Delhi. They imbue the acrylic and gold leaf on canvas with the sweet sadness of remembrance. "An old torn photograph or the rubble wall of an old haveli evoke emotions in me," explains Bahulkar. It also touches viewers. "Reminded me of life before Partition," says an entry in the visitor's book. Bahulkar is best known for his work on 'Ram Darshan' at Chitrakoot, the holy town where Lord Ram and Sita are said to have spent years in exile. Figures and motifs from that epic appear too in these paintings; a Ganesh here or Hanuman there, with usually a Marathi family in the foreground. One viewer asks the painter whether the gilt borders are a representation of the 'old is gold' philosophy. Another, more earthy, has a simpler query: "Is the family that of Bal Gangadhar Tilak?"

-Samrat Choudhury

Broadcasting History

It's arguably difficult to key in C.V. Raman's cryptic interpretation of the wireless. But check out Raman's Greek-alphabet formula of "the wireless before it was born" at the new radio and TV museum at All India Radio, Delhi. The scroll is an entry Raman made in 1944 in a visitor's book. There's more: Alfred Hitchcock's self-portrait, Jawaharlal Nehru's "Forward Radio" entry in 1939. The priceless exhibits also include a red-ink copy of Mantosh, the first play broadcast in 1936, 75-year ribbon microphones, a 25" 1959 TV set, giant spools, tapes and antique bow instruments (Saranda, Taus). Officials aren't saying when the public will get to see them. Some things, like the red tape, never get outdated.

-Methil Renuka

STUDIO KODAMBAKKAM:

Who says only Bollywood has star-aspirants? Wannabes who wish to further acting ambitions can queue up at Magic Lantern, an eight-year-old theatre group in Chennai which started an Actors' Studio at Alliance Francaise three months ago. The first batch of students is out. The course (Rs 35,000 for 300 hours) includes yoga, martial arts and dance capsules. "But the emphasis is on acting," says the studio's founder Hans Kaushik. Faculty will also include names from the film industry: stuntman Vikram Dharma, actor Nasser and choreographer Kalyan. To more homegrown Rajnikants, Kamal Haasans and Rambhas then.

-Kavitha Muralidharan

METRO MINUTES

WHAT'S IN STORE?: Valaya at Studio Valaya

J.J. Valaya is into "expansion mode". Last week, the couturier opened his second flagship store in Delhi, Studio Valaya, at Greater Kailash I. The opening of the store-swank and done up in misleading mirrors like his Life studio at Chhattarpur-was a celeb-studded event. Most were close friends-designers Rohit Bal and Ashish Soni, Delhi beauties Malavika Tiwari and Nafisa Ali, models Sunalika Oberoi and Kanwal Toor. As the wine and congratulations flowed, Valaya-"please call me J.J."- straddled the store and pointed excitedly to the diffusion line: "Shirts for Rs 1,000, suits for Rs 9,000, sherwanis for Rs 15,000 and lehengas for Rs 30,000-60,000." More stores will follow.

EXPRESSIONS TIHAR: prisoners' show

Last year, they had a show within the grubby walls of Delhi's Tihar jail. This year, their talents have taken them beyond Tihar, to the Habiart Gallery at India Habitat Centre, where Expressions Tihar, an exhibition of 200-odd paintings by prison inmates, is on. "Art has a cathartic effect," says Ajay Agarwal, directorgeneral, Prisons. True. Dal Lama, 20, a Tibetan, has sketched fine landscapes; Anil Mehta, 60, has tried to recreate the Amarnath cave; Akhlaque Ahmed Khan, an MBA student, has put out some fine examples of abstract art. Priced between Rs 2,000 and Rs 6,500, proceeds from their sale will go into the prisoners' welfare fund.

Bangalore diamond merchants Ganjam launched Arisia, a line of solitaires, with a glitzy ramp show at the Leela Palace. The cut diamonds in gold (Rs 3 lakh and above) found takers on the fashion runway. Models Nina Manuel, Pashmeena Nowroji, Anjum Seth flaunted the rocks in outfits designed by Mumbai's Azeem Khan. A glittering start.

-Contributed by Methil Renuka, Teresa Rehman and Stephen David