Somberikatte

A fictional institution created by Pushpamala N in 1996

Somberikatte is a Kannada word meaning idler’s platform- usually the platform around a large tree where people gather to gossip and exchange news. It is a fictional institution, sometimes a forum, sometimes a film production company or the name of a photo studio, used by the artist Pushpamala N.

In 1998-99 soon after moving back to Bengaluru, she held a series of seminars in her studio with three eminent speakers presenting papers in each. The series was called The Idea of the Folk and explored the notions of the folk as subaltern, as common people, authentic people, the nation, etc. in the areas of film, art, architecture, environment, technology and law.

The Re-Look series of lectures on art were started in 2010 and continue into the 3rd season in 2014.

Somberikatte at 1Shanthiroad

Re-Look:

Lectures on Art (2010 onwards )

This series of lectures presents exciting new research being done in the areas of art history, recent art practice and visual anthropology in India, each for the first time in Bengaluru. Distinguished art historians and scholars are invited to give illustrated papers on their recent work and interests. There will be a lecture every month, which will take place at the popular artist space 1 Shanthiroad Studio / Gallery, situated in the heart of the city.

Season 1: 2010-2011

Season 2: 2011-2012

Season 3: 2013-2014

http ://pad.ma/grid/title/source==Suresh_Kumar&topic==Re-Look&name==Suresh_Kumar

Facebook group Somberikatte

Relook

Anita Dube

Relook 24:

Rustom Bharucha

“Performing Asia”

The Affective Affinities of Rabindranath Tagore and Okakura Tenshin

This lecture explores the idea of “Asia” that provided the meeting ground of Rabindranath Tagore and Japanese curator and cultural historian Okakura Tenshin at the turn of the last century. It elaborates on how “Asia” was embodied in their performances worldwide at histrionic and rhetorical levels in their lectures and correspondence. Using rare photographs and audio recordings to highlight the expressive dimensions of performance, the lecture will also focus on the politics of performativity through a critical reading of the inter-Asian tensions underlying an ostensibly pan-Asian discourse.

RUSTOM BHARUCHA is Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies in the School of Arts and Aesthetics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.