Indian Christian Art

What is the colour of temptation?
And of sin?
Purple. And black.
There were 12 framed pieces of art on the wall. Mostly done in crayon. And the 12 pieces were an artist's interpretation of the Lord's Prayer, the widely known Our Father.
Fr. Thamburaj, a Jesuit priest took me through his creation he had worked on for close to a year, keen as he was to see how people looked at his work.
He told me that he himself had seen it differently on one morning when he woke up and looked at the pieces and realised that while the first few pieces were in bright colours, the next few were in deep, dark colours but the series ended positively. Amen!
Father Thamburaj's artworks on the 'Our Father' must be a rare series in this part of the world.
Better known as a passionate preacher, a vocation he pursued after he moved out of Loyola College, this priest is also a artist.
This past week, he and a few others were present at a function held to launch a fantastic book on Indian Christian Art, whose co-author is another well known Jesuit, Fr. A. Amaladass. A book that is possibly the best document on this subject.
The community of Christians who are artists and sculptors is small.
I got to know one many years ago.
A. Alphonso Doss is a senior, well known artist who came from Bangalore in the late 1940s to study at Government College of Art, Madras and went on to become its Principal.
I got introduced to him when a friend wanted a Christian backdrop to a musical he was producing. Since then I have spent time at Alphonso's space in Virugambakkam, a  place he chose to go to when PTC buses used to run on red earth paths ploughed through abandoned rice fields and rest under clumps of palm trees.
Every now and then, Alphonso has let me enjoy his 'Christian' works - Jesus washing the feet of a disciple, Jesus breaking bread at the Last Supper, a damsel holding up a lamp, waiting for the Master . .
Alphonso, I suspect is not a regular church-goer but he has his beliefs and even in his advanced age, paints like a man fired up by the Holy Spirit!
Meeting this small group of artists and listening to them was interesting. For, many non Christian artists since the Mughal times have worked on Christian themes. There has been a dialogue. And it seems to continue even today.
Fascinating.
And to be reminded that the stone-carved cross set inside the church atop St. Thomas Mount is a precious piece of Christian art.

Music makes Madras

If jazz swings you, then you may want to listen to the music of a man who is said to be a big star in distant Norway.
Bassist Arild Andersen has played with many greats and made a name for himself around the world.
This past week, he and his band mates, saxophonist Tommy Smith and percussionist Paolo Vinaccia were here in the city to perform at a few campuses and at the Alliance Francaise before traveling to Auroville and thereafter to the JazzYatra in New Delhi.
Andersen, who is in his late 60s displayed his wizardry at the group's concert at the Alliance and for the audience of about less than a hundred it was an evening to remember.
Here was an opportunity to listen to world class musicians.
I had to skip a Carnatic music concert by the internationally-known violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam to be on time for Andersen's show on the other side of Mount Road. Having enjoyed the music of the violin maestro on many occasions, the choice to head for jazz was the right one.
There is a lot of music in this city of ours.
To be able to listen to a Carnatic music concert at 4 p.m. and then drive to another venue to enjoy a jazz concert at 7 p.m. is heaven's grace for anyone who soaks in the arts, for those who wish to explore music.
December is that time of the year when our city hosts what is perhaps the biggest music festival of its kind anywhere in the world. When dozens of organizations host Carnatic music concerts of the maestros, the stars and the bright talents.
The day starts as early as 7 a.m. with the academic sessions of lectures and demonstrations and progresses into concert after concert that end at 9.30 p.m.
For many connoisseurs, their lives in December are wrapped around this festival. Lots more tie in their holidays with the December season.
For the managers of the arts organizations, there is much at stake in hosting the fests and they go all out to seek sponsors in order to ensure the show goes on.
Very few look up to the state for help and monetary assistance.
This is a wonderful collaboration - of managers, artistes and rasikas - that this city can be proud of.

Local NGOs you can suport

Nimmu has the land, the spirit and lots of eager children who want to study. But building classrooms has been a struggle.
This community activist who resides in Kotturpuram has done all she can to build a little primary school that can be a warm place for children whose fathers are auto drivers and mothers are maids in the neighbourhood.
For years, Nimmu has managed to run a centre on the fringe of a Slum Board tenements campus on the banks of the Adyar but this journey has been uncertain. And dangerous too - once a bunch of goons attacked the school and threatened this activist.
But Nimmu, who has fought many a civic battle inside courts and outside has not given up.
Now, there seems to be some progress. But she needs money and that is not easy to come by.
"How do you raise funds?" That is the question that is on Nimmu's mind.
It is a question that is also on the mind of another activist. Shekar Raghavan is fairly well-known as the propagator of the rainwater harvesting technique.
For many years now, he has sat on forums, lobbied with government agencies and helped communities set up rainwater harvesting systems in offices, apartments and houses.
Shekar's time and advice comes free. You have to pay for the material and to the men who work to create this facility. Setting up a RWH system does not take much time.
But at the end of the day, Shekar finds that he does not have the funds to keep going. To keep promoting this concept.
A fat donation at the start served him and his team well. Now, the time  has come for Shekar to look around for new benefactors.
But the man who resides in Besant Nagar says he is not sure how to generate funds.
"I don't mind begging for support but small help isn't going to be of much use", he says.
Shekar has not sought donations from people whom he has advised and guided on RWH. He says doing this would mar his campaign. He would be happy if corporates chose to support his Rain Centre in Mandaveli.
There are lots of people like Nimmu and Shekar who work on different projects which affect us all. Many will be happy to receive our support.