Category: Delhi

I would have died of joy and excitement had Com Lenin offered to drop me to school riding my cycle.

‘Lenin and Lolitesa,’ Pencil and crayon on paper by Croatian artists Dubravka Ugrešić  as a part of The Red School.

Outspoken, provocative, novelist and essayist Dubravka Ugrešić died in Amsterdam on Friday, March 17th, surrounded by family and friends. She was known for her incisive critical voice, an intriguing playfulness and a commitment to the principles dictated by her position as an expatriate citizen of the Republic of World Letters, and was a vocal critic of the recent upsurge of nationalism and neo-Fascism in Europe.

Artwork signed again 2022.

Pure joy. Friends. Twirl. Keekli. Bronze by Saroj Jain. Show at Triveni Kala Sangam, Delhi

Is this the season? Then,

Where are the others? 

It is the absence 

of the ‘other’ 

that spawns the mystery of life.

‘Grease’, the first thing that rings bells with this word is John Travolta starrer musical-romantic film. The next one is the thick jelly that reminds me of the dry sprockets and chains or ball-bearings. Never had it occurred to me that I will have anything to do with the latter. Getting to design a promotional campaign for an industry completely new to you while being a challenge is also an interesting opportunity to explore new worlds. With the National Lubricating Grease Institute assigning us the project to design a Coffee-table book for their Silver Jubilee international conference in Gurgaon. The large format illustrated book was an encyclopedic work summing up their operations for the last twenty-five years. Short of time and usable material we were up against the wall. The biggest challenge was putting together pictures of the last 24 conferences, interviewing the team of veterans, getting the dates and the history right and reassessing the years when grease as a product was not even produced in India. It was tough, yet something the team wanted to continue with and see it through. There are projects that leave you wanting for more and then there are projects you wish to get done with the soonest. This one had a mix of both. Finally, the product came out exceptionally well and was delivered in time. One feels happy and special when the client sends a note of appreciation for a job well done. The result is here for all of you to see. Thank you NLGI and Siddharth Petro; Ishtihaar looks forward to carrying forward this relationship for years to come.

‘Hum Sab Sahmat: Resisting a Nation Without Citizens’ at Ektara, Takshila Foundation, Bhopal. After the opening on the 26th at the beautiful new building, I am told the exhibition is attracting discerning crowd. Friends in Bhopal, Vidisha, Dewas, Indore, Ujjain, Sagar and Ratlam must take out time to see the show and write or talk about it. Together with the exhibition there will be talks, lectures, music and theatre performance at the same venue. Don’t miss it. Ektara and Sahmat books are also available. Over 250 artworks. On display till April 23rd, 2023, Ektara House, 2 Malviya Nagar, Bhopal Ektara India Sahmat Sahmat Sushil Shukla Aban Raza Sohail Hashmi Vijendra S Vij #ektara_india