Telangana farmers’ suicides : Is there any end? అక్టోబర్ 7, 2007
Posted by Telangana Utsav in Articles, English, In News, Telangana.1 comment so far
In Incredible India, spare a thought for the farmer
Sudheendra Kulkarni
“India won freedom 60 years ago, but the Indian kisan has now become a slave in his own country.” Harsh words. They were spoken by Nagi Reddy, a sugarcane grower from Mumbojipalli in Medak district in Andhra Pradesh. “Every other producer of a commodity determines its selling price. The only unfortunate exception is the farmer; the price of his produce is decided not by him but by the buyer.” Scores of hands clapped in assent.
Both the place and the occasion for expressing this grievance were significant. Some 50-odd farmers from Telangana in Andhra Pradesh had gathered under a tree near Gandhiji’s Samadhi at Rajghat on October 2. They had come marching from Jantar Mantar, where they had been sitting on a dharna, both to pay homage to the Mahatma and to highlight that his dream of ‘Gram Swaraj’ has turned into a cruel joke for India’s grameen janata.
“More and more farmers in Telangana, especially those with small landholdings, are committing suicide, unable to bear the burden of debt as well as the heavier burden of humiliation and injustice at every step,” said D. Vasant Kumar, a young man in his early twenties who was leading the agitation. “People in Delhi do not know the gravity of the crisis facing the farmers.” (ఇంకా…)
Contemporary Art of Telangana – ‘High on Hyderabad’ అక్టోబర్ 7, 2007
Posted by bharath in English, Hyderabad, Telangana.add a comment
Colours of change
JANHAVI ACHAREKAR
An exhibition of paintings in Mumbai by artists from Hyderabad tries to capture the evolving textures of a fast-changing city.
Having experimented in the past with cityscapes and human figures, Fawad Tamkanat’s new series, “Street Observations”, is a more contemporary, sophisticated representation of Hyderabad.
Vignettes of life in a metro: Untitled by K. Srinivas Chari.
For a city that’s been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately, the exhibition of figurative art, “High on Hyderabad”, at Jamaat Art Gallery in Mumbai, was a pleasant surprise. A city that has suffered much violence in recent t imes, Hyderabad is portrayed in a new light. And even as it is besieged by the IT industry, attracting talent from around the country and the globe, earning the dubious monicker “Cyberabad”, we are made privy to the everyday realities of the less celebrated rural migrants to the city.
Striking ambience
As you enter Jamaat, what strikes you most is the peace and communal harmony that the city once famously stood for. Fawad Tamkanat’s Muslim figures in traditional caps and burkhas are strategically placed opposite Ramesh Gorjala’s “Hanuman” and “Krishna”.
Bairu Raghuram’s work is inspired by the tranquillity of rural Telangana and Sachin Jaltare’s dreamlike figures add a touch of the spiritual and the divine. Meanwhile, Laxman Aelay’s city scenes of rural workers and Srinivas Reddy’s sculpted busts are telling social statements just as K. Srinivasa Chari’s figures in egg tempera hark back to the elegance of Nawabi Hyderabad.
Charmed by the city during a recent visit, this group show of emerging and established artists from Hyderabad has been curated by the gallery owner Pravina Mecklai (who is quick to point out that while Fawad is a practising Muslim and Gorjala a devout Hindu, they remain the best of friends).
Fawad Tamkanat surprises us with his new works, painted in the photorealistic style. Having experimented in the past with cityscapes and human figures, his new series, called “Street Observations”, is a more contemporary, sophisticated representation of a fast-changing Hyderabad as it is transformed from a sleepy town into a suave, modern city. This talented artist paints his immediate surroundings and scenes observed from his studio. (ఇంకా…)
