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may 2011 programmes
thursday 12th may
6.30 pm ‘Sikh Art through the eyes of a believer. –
a talk by Inni Kaur
 Sikh
art is neither sacred nor iconic. But to some extent
it is symbolic and occupies a unique place in Sikh
cultural history. Art during the early period of the
Sikh faith (late fifteenth to early eighteenth
century) takes the form of painted narratives,
portraits and textual illuminations. This
presentation will include some of the paintings that
are drawn from a genre of literature known as the
janamaskhis. The historical accuracy of these
accounts is debated, but their power in the popular
imagination is enormous. They evoke the Guru through
his own simple words and quiet heroics as he holds a
mirror up to empty ritual, irrational thought and
wasted action. This presentation will cover some of
the paintings from the 17th century to the present
day.
Inni Kaur is the author of the recently released
children's book Journey With The Gurus, that
captures the early life of the Guru Nanak. In 2006
she was involved in coordinating the first
exhibition of early Sikh art in New York at the
Rubin Museum of Art. Titled "I See No Stranger:
Early Sikh Art and Devotion," highlighted the
core Sikh belief in the oneness of God and respect
for all religious traditions. She is on the
editorial board of Nishaan, a magazine
celebrating Sikh heritage and culture and is a
frequent contributor to the online magazine
Sikhchic.com. She is also on the Advisory Board
of the Sikh Research Institute. She lives in the
United States.
saturday 14 May
1 to 2 pm Food Meditation # 13
 Since
October 2009 The Attic and Anaam have been
organizing monthly Food Meditation events. What have
we achieved? That is for our participants to decide.
We welcome comments, ideas and suggestions. Please
email us
info@theatticdelhi.org
What we have been trying to educate and inform our
participants about the following food facts.
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India has a 2500 year old tradition of an eating
etiquette dating from Vedic times.
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As propounded by Thich Nhat Hanh we have
encouraged ‘Mindful Eating’ in total silence.
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We have introduced you to nutritious, organically
grown food from villages in the Kumaon region of
Uttaranchal.
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These foods include lesser known grains Jau
(oats), Jowar (barley), and Bajra (millets) and
Chaulai (Amaranth or quinoa the wonder non grain
of South America) as well as Kulath (Horse Gram),
Madua, Naurangi Daal, home collected honey and
refreshing summer drinks (Chaach, Jal jeera).
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We have introduced you to the slow food movement
which originated in Italy and believes in
preserving local and traditional foods, organic
farming and the risks of monoculture and fast
foods.
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We had started a series on forgotten foods.
For the next few sessions, maybe longer, we will eat
and depart in silence. If participants want to stay
and talk you are welcome. We provide the food and
the silence.
Menu
White Rajma (Kidney beans)
Alu Matar (dry)(Potato & Peas)
Brown Rice
Amaranth Chapatti(Chaulai)
Chach (Buttermilk)
Pickle
Participation is by registration on
payment only. Telephone The Attic 23746050 or email:
mina@theatticdelhi.org.
Charges: Rs 100.
wednesday 25th may
6.30 pm
Kuchipudi
dance recital by Dr Saraswathi Rajathesh with
Natyasaraswathi ensemble
Indian classical dance is a language of expression
normally used for spiritual forms associated with
temples. Practioners have however struggled to
relate it to more modern themes, not always with
great success. Here is another noble attempt with
the grand finale “Jana gana mana” a tribute to great
legend Ravindranath Tagore..
Dr Saraswathi Rajathesh is one of the few gurus in
kuchipudi from Karnataka training exclusively
traditional kuchipudi dance since 20yrs through her
institute natyasarawathi with her contributions
world wide.
The artist is a dental surgeon and trained by Gurus
Vedantam Ramu, Vedantam Radhesyam and Chinta
Adinarayana Sharma and attained a masters from
Siddendra Kalakshetram Kuchipudi village.
She is an empanelled artist with ICCR, Govt. of
Karnataka and Doordarshan. And has specialized in a
typical kuchipudi art form called ‘Simha Nandini’
where the dancer sketches a lion with foot work
on a canvas sheet. She has been trained in this by
Guru Smt. Voleti Rangamani of Hyderabad, the only
existing Guru of this tradition.
This event is co sponsored by India World Cultural
Forum (IWCF) set up to enhance the understanding and
appreciation of the rich and diverse cultures of
various countries. Its vision is to achieve harmony,
understanding and friendship between people of
different cultures through food, music, theater and
dance.
On the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of
Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 2011, India
World Cultural Forum is organizing “ Rabindra Utsav
2011“ – a one week program of Rabindra Music, Dance
Drama, Poem, Exhibition, Films – a reflection of his
complex and multi-layered personality in association
with The Attic and other various venues in New Delhi
& Gurgaon.
wednesday 25th may
11.30 to 6.30 pm
A Tribute to Rabindranath Tagore –
paintings by Bhaskar Singha
(on view for one day only)
These acrylic paintings on canvas by Bhaskar Singha
are inspired by the poetry, personality and literary
work
of Rabindranath Tagore.
 A
closer view of his work unravels some secrets
especially, his layers of ‘air’. Bhaskar has created
an effect of transparency over two decades of
constant practice. ‘In acrylic’ he says ‘it is
difficult to get the transparent layer because it
dries fast.’ He applies at least 10 layers of colour
on his canvases, and yet even his first layer is
visible creating a ‘sculpturish’ touch to his works.
Bhaskar belongs to that
generation of artists from Bengal who took art as a
hobby not a profession. But he was not able to make
ends meet and took a job as an art teacher in a
local school in Delhi, giving him enough time for
his own art. He has exhibited in shows around Delhi
and in Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Lucknow.
He has won the Camlin
Foundation Award and Bhiku Ram
Jain Foundation Award Art Mall, Delhi, 2010
monday 30th may
6.30 pm ‘Meditations of a Misunderstood Mystic’ - a
talk by Swami Chaitanya Keerti
Osho, (Acharya Rajneesh) is generally considered to
be one of the most controversial spiritual masters
to have emerged from India in the
20th century. His criticism of organized religions,
his unorthodox views on sex, his controversial city
‘Rajneeshpuram’ near Antelope, Oregon, his 93 Rolls
Royces and His shameful deportation from the U.S.
can be contrasted with his solid teachings on many
subjects.
Amongst these his talks on the major spiritual
traditions including Jainism, Hinduism, Hassidism,
Tantra, Tao, Christianity, Buddhism and on a variety
of Eastern and Western mystics as well as many
sacred scriptures such as the Upanishads and the
Guru Granth Sahib.
His most important contribution was in the field of
meditation. Modern man, he said, was so burdened
with the outmoded traditions of the past and the
anxieties of modern-day living that he must go
through a deep cleansing process before he could
hope to discover the thought-less, relaxed state of
meditation. He began to hold meditation camps around
India and later in the West, personally conducting
sessions of the techniques he had developed.
He also spoke to a world wide audience on awareness,
love, celebration, creativity and humor qualities
that he viewed as being suppressed by adherence to
static belief systems, religious and social
traditions.
One of his well-known disciples Swami Chaitanya
Keerti speaks this evening about why Osho spoke. It
was not to provide information or entertainment but
to provide his listeners an opportunity to
experience the state of relaxed alertness that lies
at the core of meditation.
Swami Chaitanya Keerti was initiated into Osho's Neo
sannyas movement
in 1971 and ever since has been dedicatedly
associated with the world of meditation. He has been
the spokesperson for Osho Commune International and
also the founding editor of Osho Times International
being published from Pune since 1975. He is
presently the spokesperson of Osho World Foundation
and the editor of Osho World monthly hindi magazine
published from New Delhi.
He has been the editor of books on Osho and is the
author of four books: Allah to Zen, The Osho Way: In
Romance with Life, Osho Fragrance and the Alchemy of
Zen.
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