An Evening With Anton Chekhov, April 19 to 21, 2013

Who was lifted up to kiss his grandmother in her coffin?
Why should a man need protection from the SPCA?
How many ladies ran out of their homes improperly dressed during the eclipse?
Who locked up the old clown in the theatre?

 

AN EVENING WITH ANTON CHEKHOV

(three tragi-comedies and a farce)

The Harmfulness of Tobacco

“If you take a fly and put him in a snuff box, he will die, probably from nervous exhaustion.”

A Man with a Violent Temper

“How can you tell a lady you do not love her? That’s as rude as telling an author he can’t write.”

A Reluctant Tragic Hero

“You get so shaken up that your bones ache all night and you dream of crocodiles.”

Swan Song  

“I am like the wind blowing across the lonely fields. I shall die, and no one will remember me.”

Ranga Shankara, April 19 & 20, 7.30 pm, April 21, 3.30 and 7.30 pm.  

Direction: Anmol Vellani

Cast: Anish Victor, Sachin Gurjale, Ashish D’Abreo, Nakul Bhalla, Sharanya Ramprakash, Prashanth Nair, Ravindra Vijay

Tickets: Rs 150

Available at www.indianstage.in; www.bookmyshow.com (Tel: 39895050)

and Ranga Shankara

Telebooking: Lakshmi Menon 99010 91091

“Marked by brilliant performances!” – The Hindu

“Rarely does one get to see acting of this calibre.” – Deccan Herald

“. . . the stagecraft soared . . .” – Citizen Matters

Official selection for the MetroPlus Theatre Festival

rafiki & Toto Funds the Arts Production

Launch of Zac O'Yeah's Novel 'Mr Majestic, The Tout of Bengaluru'

Toto Funds the Arts

in association with

The British Council Library

is proud to invite you to the launch of  

Zac O’Yeah’s Mr Majestic, The Tout of Bengaluru 

Zac will be in conversation with Sugata Srinivasaraju

Date and Time:  Saturday, 30 March 2013, 6.30 p.m.

Venue:  The British Library, Prestige Takt, 23 Kasturba Road Cross, Bangalore

Zac O’Yeah is the author of Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan (2010) and Mr Majestic (2012) published by Hachette India. He worked in the theatre and music business in Sweden until he retired early, at 25, to come to India. His 12 published books range from bestselling detective fiction to history and travelogue, and he has also translated Indian literature into Swedish. For more information log on to www.zacoyeah.com

Sugata Srinivasaraju is a journalist, writer and translator. He is the editor of the Kannada daily Vijay Karnataka and the weekly newsmagazine Vijay Next. Sugata’s books include Phoenix and Four Other Mime Plays (2005), Keeping Faith with the Mother Tongue (2008) and Pickles from Home: The Worlds of a Bilingual (2012). 

About Mr Majestic  

"Among the many genre pleasures of Mr Majestic! is a redolently pulpy Indian thriller that doubles as authentic Bangalore noir. Zac O'Yeah and Hari Majestic—local firang pulpmeister and international local detective—arrive on the scene of the crime to give us an amusing, zippy, suspenseful mystery that will have you properly sandalwooded and Bangalored, Majestic style." 

—Pradeep Sebastian, author of The Groaning Shelf and Other Instances of Book Love

"Zac O'Yeah's crime fiction is quirky, amusing and teeming with unforgettable characters. A deliciously waggish take on modern India with all its idiosyncrasies and complexities." 

—Tarquin Hall, author of the Vish Puri series

"...your brain will be sharpened, and your gut ought to enjoy the roller-coaster ride." 

—Timeout

"If you enjoy psychedelic writing, with lashings of humour and a satisfying whodunnit all rolled in one, yep, this could be the book for you." 

—Postnoon Newspaper

"It’s a narrative so filmi, you almost expect a song-and-dance sequence. ... a trip worth taking.

—The Indian Express

“A novel set in Bangalore that’s not quite like anything done before in the English language …. gloriously, unabashedly Technicolor with full-on frontal lighting, over-the-top escapades and sheer joy seeping out of every frame….” 

 —Sumana Mukherjee, Outlook Magazine

Screening and Discussion of Toto Award Winning Films

Toto Funds the Arts (TFA)

in association with the National Gallery of Modern Art  

is proud to present the second edition of  

‘New Voices in Indian Films’ 

with a screening and discussion of 

Anoop Sathyan’s A Dream Called America and Raam Reddy’s Ika (Feather), 

both of which won the 2013 TOTO Awards for Short Film. 

Anusha Nandakumar’s Sita Haran aur Anya Kahaniyan, 

which was short-listed for the Awards, will also be screened

Date and Time: Saturday, 16 March 2013,   5–7 p.m. 

Venue:  National Gallery of Modern Art (Auditorium)

49, Palace Road, Bengaluru-560 052 (ph: 080-22342338)

Anoop Sathyan from Thrissur is an alumnus of the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, India. He quit his career as a software engineer in a leading MNC to follow his passion in films. 

Raam Reddy is a 23-year-old writer–filmmaker based in Bangalore.  Upon graduating from St Stephen’s in Economics, Raam experienced a growing interest in filmmaking. Over the last three years Raam has written and directed eight fiction short films. He recently graduated in Direction from Prague Film School.

Anusha Nandakumar is a 26-year-old filmmaker and scriptwriter based in Pune. She graduated in Direction from the Satyajit Ray Film Institute in Kolkata.

About the films

A Dream Called America (Documentary, Language: Hindi, English) A Dream Called America is about a Gujarati teenager who is hosted by an American couple for one year and now desperately wants to return to the US. 

The jurors for the 2013 TOTO short film awards said: “This disarming documentary is made with extraordinary maturity and complexity. It tells the story of a family living through material and emotional transition without judgment, and with affection and respect. The film never uses intimacy as currency to intrude on the private lives of the less privileged, even while telling a very personal story.”

Ika (Feather) (Fiction, Language: Telugu, with English subtitles) Ika is a film about a boy living in a slum in Bangalore who wants to make a film.  

According to the TOTO Awards jury, “This evocative film has a sharp eye, a warm, wise heart and a clear intellect. The film’s many layers have been handled with a remarkable lightness of touch. … Ika is an example of how a careful, clear crafting can create a sense of warmth and spontaneity. In a few fluid minutes it takes us into a story, a world and another life, creating pleasure and empathy as only art can.”

Sita Haran aur Anya Kahaniyan/Sita’s Abduction and Other Stories (Experimental fiction, Language: Hindi, with English subtitles) This is a short experimental film about a storyteller and his world of stories. 

The jurors for the TOTO Awards said: “The unique and enjoyable visual style of this film combines the folk and contemporary with whimsicality and flair. It is especially notable for its ability to use filmmaking language to evoke wonder and a sense of magic in a very similar way to the folk form it uses.”

Suspenseful Writing Workshop: March 30 & 31

Two–Day Suspenseful Writing Workshop 

Saturday, 30 March and Sunday, 31 March 2013

Toto Funds the Arts (TFA), in association with British Council Library, Bangalore is pleased to announce a workshop on Writing Detective Novels and Suspenseful Stories, which will be conducted by Zac O’Yeah.

Venue: British Council Library, Prestige Takt, 23 Kasturba Road Cross (Opposite Visvesvaraiah Industrial and Technological Museum), Bangalore

Dates: Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 March 2013

Time:  2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on both days

Fee:  Rs 1,200 inclusive of tea

Note to applicants (between 18 and 35 years):

Since we can accommodate a limited number of participants, we will have to necessarily screen applicants. Please answer the following: (1) Name your favourite detective/thriller/mystery books and writers (2) How often do you write fiction? (3) What do you find most difficult when you try to write a story? Email the answers to tfaindia84@gmail.com (with a copy to sarita.tfaindia@gmail.com) by March 12 at the latest to help us choose the participants.

About the workshop:

Zac O’Yeah will initiate an interactive discussion on suspense, thrills, plotting and the craft of writing popular detective stories, and set a writing assignment, which will be discussed and evaluated.

About the facilitator:

ZAC O’YEAH is the author of Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan (2010) and Mr Majestic (2012) published by Hachette India. He worked in the theatre and music business in Sweden until he retired early, at 25, to come to India. His 12 published books range from bestselling detective fiction to history and travelogue, and he has also translated Indian literature into Swedish.