Workshop on Watercolour

Here comes a workshop on Watercolours, in Bangalore.

It is conducted by George Supreeth. To know more about him just google with "george supreeth" (with the inverted commas) and you can see a wide variety of his works.

I have to juggle stuff, but attend it I will. If you are even a wee bit interested in doing watercolours, you should attend it too!

A Day at the Museum

Today:

I was in the Government Museum on Kasturaba Road, Bangalore. A few other members of the sketch club called Pencil Jammers of which I am a member, were with me. We stood there sketching some of the 10th and 11the century sculptures on display there.

The guards, one a Bengali and the other an Assamese, were very curious about what we were doing. They kept watching what we did and gave their opinion on how we are doing. But, they are highly appreciative. They are so impressed that they found some folding chairs and offered them to the the couple of girls in the group. That was awfully nice of them.

Then comes an officer of the museum and challenged us about what we were doing, almost offensively. "Shouldn't you come and ask for permission before sketching?" I am asked. I explain about Pencil Jammers patiently. I say that the two of the girls are students in a premier, internationally esteemed educational institution in Bangalore and also where I work. I also say that our interests are purely artistic. We are finally allowed to continue.

There is a "No Photography" rules in many musea. I never understood why. Flashes can ruin the pigments in paintings. So, a "No Flash" rule is understandable. Why no photography?

Flashback 1985:

I was in the Birmingham Museum. I was ill prepared for the visit and I wanted to make some notes about some interesting exhibits - Degas' Ballerina - for instance. I went to the reception and asked hesitantly, if it was possible to get some paper. Pronto comes a clip board, five sheets of paper and pencil to boot. It was not a dream. I am told, "Just leave the pad and the pencil here on your way out please?". Thank you very much.

*****

Flash forward:

Here are some of the sketches I made at the museum yesterday.

Tara, Bihar, Ca 10th Century

(Not sure if it is Brihaspatacharya's wife Tara or Vali's wife Tara or the female Bodhisattva or the form of Shakti)

Teerthankara, Ca 11th Century AD

Priya Sebastian's Art

Another friend from Pencil Jammers, Priya Sebastian, is holding an exhibition of her works!

Here are the details in the invitation designed by "none other than" (as Priya put it) Prabha Mallya, another Pencil Jammer.

Do visit the exhibition!

(Click on the image to view larger)

Glimmer

I received a forwarded mail from a friend and I have reproduced the contents here in full, after getting the permission of the original mailer.

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When I narrated the incident below to a close friend over lunch earlier this week, he suggested that I should pen this down in an email and circulate it to as many friends in Bangalore as possible. So here goes an interesting experience of interacting with an IPS officer, who made me see a Glimmer of Hope, amidst the corruption that encompasses so many of our public services.

It was Friday 5th June, at about 3 pm, I drove my Ford Ikon car into 80 feet road at Indiranagar in Bangalore ; wanting to reach on time for my 3.30 pm meeting with a client. As I entered the wide road I saw a posse of Traffic Constables who stopped my car on the side and asked me to produce my car documents to the Traffic Sub Inspector (SI) who was standing on the footpath. I walked up to the SI and displayed my Driving License, to which he told me to bring my Car Insurance certificate and also my Emission Certificate for the car. I walked back to my car and realized that I had not carried either of the documents in my car and was cursing myself for such a slip.

I came back to the SI and told him that I did not have my document and what was to be done.

The SI had a half smile & told me that the fine for not carrying both these documents was Rs. 600/- however I could pay him Rs. 300/-. I removed my wallet and told the SI that I would pay the amount and want a receipt for the same, to which he suddenly grew stern and told me that in which case the fine was Rs. 1,100/-.

I paid the fine of Rs 1,100/- and took the receipt, wondering why the fine had suddenly escalated just because I wanted a receipt instead of paying the Rs. 300 bribe which the SI had asked.

After my client meeting as I was driving back, I was annoyed at myself for not carrying the documents and I was angry that at an officer at an SI level was blatantly seeking a bribe.

I decided that I should do something about it as soon as I reached my Home Office. I logged on to the net and found out that the Traffic Police of Bangalore has a website, which gives details of the fines chargeable. It also provides for logging complaints and gave the email ids of the Asst Commissioner of Police for the traffic division. At about 7 pm that evening I wrote an email to the email id of the ACP, narrating the incident of the afternoon and lodging a formal complaint in the email. I also found out the website of Lok Ayukta of Karnataka and marked a CC of the same email to the email ids given on the Lok Ayukta's website.

By about 7.30 pm I had done the needful, and I was happy with myself that what I preach in my Leadership Workshops with respect to Values, I had practiced to a large extent – by paying the fine instead of paying the bribe and reporting the bribe demand to the best of my ability.

I thought the chapter ended there, little realizing that I would be having an indeed amazing and pleasant experience on this whole incident in the hours & days to come.

On Saturday 7th June (the next day) at about 2 pm, I logged into my Home Office. I checked my email and lo behold, I had 3 emails sent to me by the ACP to who I had written the complaint email the previous day.

The first one informed me that I had done the right thing by paying the fine and not the bribe. The second email asked to give my complaint in writing and fax it to the ACP, so that action can be taken on the SI. And the 3rd email asked me to give the ACP a call on his office no or his cell no, so that he could accelerate the action to be taken on the erring SI. I promptly put my complaint in a letter and sent a scanned copy through the email to the ACP.

On Sunday, 8th June in the morning I checked my email and I had an email from the ACP stating that the erring SI had been suspended from services. It also said that I must give the ACP a call to work out the next formalities. I called the ACP (till now I did not know the name of this ACP) who answered my call on the Sunday. During my phone conversation he introduced himself as ACP Pravin Sood, and thanked me for doing what I did with respect to not paying the bribe and also escalating the matter in writing. He explained that many Bangalore citizens escalate such cases to him but then back down when asked to give the complaint in writing. He apologized to me.

Yes. He said "I am sorry for what you faced with this SI who harassed you, because he did not have any business stopping your to check your documents if you had not done any traffic violation". He invited me over to Tea to his office at a time convenient to me. After I kept the phone down, I could not believe that here was a case where within 48 hours of an incident of seeking bribe, the erring office was suspended.

I decided that I must meet in person ACP Pravin Sood, speaking with whom for 10 minutes had changed a few paradigms in my mind about Public Services Officers. Since I was travelling the next few days, I sought time with him on 15th June at 4.30 pm at his office. I reached ACP Sood's office a little early (at 4.10 pm) and was pleasantly surprised when I was ushered into his office at 4.15 pm, he asked me to sit as he was completing a meeting with another delegation. At sharp 4.30 pm he ended his previous meeting and turned to me and spent the next 20 minutes discussing with me several aspects of Traffic Policing in Bangalore . He offered me a cup of tea (Many corporate clients I visit do not see me on time and do not ask me for a cup of tea, so what ACP Sood was doing was indeed better than many corporate folks I have met…!).

Right through the conversation, he was courteous, frank and completely articulate on his thoughts and ideas.

He reiterated that there would be no repercussions on me for giving the complaint in writing. And that I may have to make one appearance in person when the internal enquiry is done. He also offered that instead of me having to come to the Police headquarters to give the statement, he could send one of his officers to my residence to take my statement if I so wish.

When I was leaving ACP Sood's office, I told him "Over the years, many of my friends and cousins have urged me to migrate and settle in one of the western countries, but I have consciously chosen to stay back in India by my choice. When I have interactions like the one I had with you ACP Sood, I am happy that I made the choice to stay back in India ". It was an impromptu comment, straight from my heart to which ACP Sood just smiled and shook my hand.

When I was walking out of ACP Sood's office, I felt reassured that if we have officers like ACP Pravin Sood in our country, there is a Glimmer of Hope, against corruption - provided, we as citizens have the courage to say NO to Bribes and have the inclination to report cases of Bribe.

I am no major RTI or Social activist, yet I found all the info I needed on the web, sitting in my Home Office…

Change begins with me.

I can make a difference.

Regards,


Shabbir Merchant
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National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore

A few weeks ago, a friend told me about this new National Gallery of Modern Art in Bangalore. It was inaugurated in February 2009 and I had completely missed the news about it. So, I visited the place today and had a great time. All the greats of the Indian art world are represented here and I could see the originals. Tagore (Rabindranath), Tagore (Abanindranath), Anjolie Ela Menon, Amrita Sher Gil, S G Vasudev, K K Hebbar, Yusuf Arakkal, K C S Paniker, M F Husain, Ramkinkar Baij, Nand Lal Bose, Jamini Roy, P T Reddy, Ravi Varma are all there. Of course there are more, either their names are not familiar to me or I do not recall some of them at the moment.

I have heard many people say that they do not understand "Modern Art." What they mean, often, is that they do not understand "abstract" art. If you are one of them, do not make the mistake of dismissing this Gallery of Modern Art. There are many "realistic" paintings - or should I say non-abstract? If you are reasonably interested in art, you should visit this beautiful gallery.

Even if you do not "like" the paintings, I am sure you enjoy the architecture. It is an old royal residential building converted to a museum. Manikyavelu Manisons.



A modern wing has been added with completely contemporary architecture that does not stick out like a sore thumb. See below a picture of the open staircase in the modern wing. (The greenish tinge to the picture is thanks to the trees all around it!


I was given permission to take a single picture of one of the rooms to add to my post. (See below) The pictures on either side of the window are very good indeed.


If you want to know where this gallery is, DO NOT LOOK for it in the maps on the internet. You get five different locations and of course four of them are wrong!

The best I can do is - it is on the road between Mt Carmel College and Chalukya Hotel, called Palace Road. The full address is NGMA, 49, Palace Road, Bangalore, 560052. Ph: 22201027

The exhibits keep changing with paintings "borrowed" from the NGMA Delhi. Keep an eye open for the announcements in the papers.

There are displays that give some information on the artists, schools of art and such, which are very educative.

On the whole, a great experience. It is sad though, that there are not many visitors to this gallery. I was there for more than two hours (not sufficient, actually, and plan to visit again soon) and saw only two other visitors.

After all the good words, there are some comments. I will be sending the this post's link to NGMA and I hope they take it as a feedback and act on it. Based on my brief interaction with the staff there, I am almost certain that they will.

The floor of the gallery may deserve better maintenance. Viewing some exhibits is hampered by the lighting. Let me give a specific example. When you stand in front of one of the Anjolie Ela Menon paintings, a light meant for a painting on the other side of the wall is directly in your eye. This one is a very beautiful painting of a mother and her two children. Some of the name boards may have typographical errors, Thrashing instead of Threshing, for instance, next to one of Ramkinkar Baij's paintings. These comments are only to make an excellent place better.

Bangalore: The City of Optimism

Pardon me for starting with a self-referential (if that is the word) sentence – I am an optimist and an incurable one. But the optimism of the ‘concerned’ people in Bangalore amazes even me.

Take the road dividers or medians for instance. The concerned put them, quite often in the middle of the road, with the hope that traffic gets better or smoother or whatever. On road after road this is belied. Not that the traffic does not get any better, it actually gets worse. Life of drivers, and more so, that of the riders of two wheelers, gets riskier.

Wonder why? Pieces of the median are removed at places where people want to cross the road. So if you are driving with assurance that no one will take a right turn in front of you, some one will. (Sounds like a corollary to Murphy’s Law? Perhaps it is.) Or worse, someone from the right of the road will drive in and join the traffic right in front of you. If you successfully avoid all these, you are likely to involuntarily close your eyes in thanks giving to fate or your favourite god or goddess, and successfully hit someone.

Worse still, all those who used to take a right turn after entering a main road, now median-ed, continue to do so and ride on the right side of the road. They join the mainstream whenever there is a break, planned or unplanned but executed, in the median.

Another hazard is presented by medians that look like fences made of steel pipes. The medians also double as places for putting up advertisement boards. After some time and a few accidents later, many parts of these medians are jutting out where they are not expected. (The best example is the Kasturaba Road. Treacherous!) In increasing levels of ill luck you are likely to lose some clothing, or limb or life, respectively.

Another example for optimism is what I call “Monuments to Bangalore’s Optimism” These are the footbridges across busy roads. Monuments are quite often perfectly useless structures that represent something. In Bangalore too are they perfectly useless and only represent the optimism of the ‘concerned’. I have never seen a soul on these bridges. (Nor have I seen a soul anywhere else, for that matter. So, read that as “I have never seen a body, dead or alive, on these bridges”).

Pardon me. Those monuments do serve some purposes, albeit not the intended ones. They provide great space for advertisement hoardings. They perhaps provide an opportunity for all the concerned ‘concerned’ to make some money. One hardy soul, attached to his mortal body of course, who once came very close to fulfilling the dreams of the concerned by using the foot-bridge, assures me that it serves another purpose, especially on a cold windy day, on which you have been lightly dressed and been trying to fit the description of a man about town…..

The other ‘proof for optimism’ are the white paint wasted on lines painted to separate the lanes on roads. If you are a true Bangalorean, you will ask me, or anyone near you, “Lanes? What the heck (or any other suitable four-letter word which reveals you dictional - to coin a word to rhyme with fictional - preferences) are they. Come, come. Be frank for once. You always thought that they were painted on the road to tell you where the road was, on a wet, dark night, right?

Even if that was the purpose, the concerned would have failed – where are roads in Bangalore on a rainy night, anyway?

Talking of roads, roads are the highways of Bangalore’s optimism. They represent the hope that they will last a monsoon - if you are a user, and that they won’t last a monsoon - if you are road-building contractor. The latter of course is more likely to be met since you know the quality, or the lack of it, in your work.

The roads represent the hope that they are not dug up before the last road-roller has moved away from the freshly laid road, by the electricity supply corporation, the Bangalore Water and Sewerage Supply Board (Oooops, that one slipped out, the original coinage of Murthy, the (alas, late) cartoonist of The Deccan Herald) I mean the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board and the various political parties and the various temples and their annual function organiser and the various wedding halls and their pandal erectors and …. The list is practically endless. The most amazing thing is that in spite of the best efforts of all these people, there are still some roads worth the name in Bangalore. I won’t name them even under duress, lest one among the above list makes a beeline to them to set things right.

Long live Bangalore and along with it Optimism, with a capital O.