Category Archives: Review
Meanwhile Elsewhere
How does one express abstract prose poems into a visual performance? How does one portray description of cities on a stage? How does one interpret visual stories into a theatrical play?
Armed with light, shadow and smoke Maverick Director Yadavan Chandran, with great panache, executes the herculean task of translating Italo Calvino’s Invisible cities into a spectacle that is at once literal and phenomenal, abstract and real in its narrative. Yadavan’s genius lies in stretching the original’s trajectory to make a subtle statement about the future of cities, of what we have lost to reach where we are.
In Yadavan’s Meanwhile elsewhere, the role of the emperor and the explorer take a new shade. They grieve, they question, they debate. Often we see the cities through Kublai khan’s eyes. Like a magician, Yadavan fuses music, weaves illusions with threads and creates mesmerizing tales of fictional and real cities. The costumes, the use of multiple languages, music and last but not the least the characters dazzle like a blinding light in a moonless sky. Perhaps this is the essence of Meanwhile Elsewhere- we are thrilled yet frightened, happy yet sad. Uncomfortable in our complacence.
Kudos to Mallika Sarabhai, not only for brilliant acting, but also for treating the city of Ahmedabad to this compelling visual treat.
Natarani is a state of the art amphitheater and curating venue. Built and launched in 1994 it has been presenting cutting edge and popular national and international companies in each season. It hosts several festivals, the most prestigious being the Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival at the end of December where new collaborative work is premiered.
Written by Poonam Jolly – December 2024
Archive
Bird Tower
Some villagers made this tower for birds to live in on the edge of a natural lake. There is a temple, a bael tree, many birds and humans seeking blessings from Lord Shiva.
The multi-coloured tower is five feet wide octagon thirty six feet high.
The lake houses egrets and turtles, not counting innumerable frogs, fishes and few tortoises. Herons and kingfishers hang out in the bushes and trees always on a look out for sweet water fish.
In summers the lake is dry, the green babul bushes also turn brown, and it is yet a haven for blue bulls to play around.
In the monsoon, the earth turns magically green, the lake gets over whelmed by baby frogs and buffaloes bathing.
Winter time is for the migratory birds to stay in the warmth away from frozen lands they come from.
All year round, villagers feed the birds with grain, the bael tree yields fruit for the monkeys, the bael1 leaves are used for worship in the temple.
Heaven on Earth looks like this!
1Bael- Stone apple.
Written by Poonam Jolly 21.10.23
Illustration. Poonam Jolly, Makhduma Merchant, Archi Rojivadia
Nr. Mahadev Temple, Shilaj
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UnEquilibium house by Architectonica
There is an elephant in my room. The elephant fills the room and extends outwards into the landscape luring a visitor towards the interiors. A visitor gets ingested in the space that expands and contracts.
In the tight geometry of right angles, the curved wall acts a barrier and bridge at the same time, although the most massive element, it nullifies its existence by not touching the slab. The house extends itself literally and metaphorically to the landscape outside. The very few concrete walls take the load of the slab. The tapering roof thins down as it goes from more to less support below it. Hence the name “UNequilibium house” as the roof is lopsided yet balanced.
Our keywords are sustainability, using bespoke methodology and crafts, use as little energy as possible and make with hands as much as possible. We believe in fusing architecture and nature such that the boundaries between the two are blurred. It should be difficult to tell what is inside and what is outside, thus making architecture and our habitat a wonderful place to be in, where nature play magic continuously throughout the year and becomes a source of eternal joy.