Pick of the week

Directed by corporate executive turned playwright Deepak Dhamija, the play Diary Ki Toh @#$!%&* is based on a satirical story about a small town boy obsessed with tragedies and penning down anecdotes in a personal journal.

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The mind chronicles

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Directed by corporate executive turned playwright Deepak Dhamija, the play Diary Ki Toh @#$!%&* is based on a satirical story about a small town boy obsessed with tragedies and penning down anecdotes in a personal journal. The conditioned mind's resistance to acknowledge
emotions other than laughter, giving way to tussles between grin and grimace, form the underlying theme, which is eloquently put across by a symbolic character — the diary.
July 16 and 17. Epicentre, Gurgaon. For details, call: 9810995262.
Tickets available at the venue

All strings attached
Mimi is a mouse, Brumm is a bear. They are so tiny that they can live in a book. When Swiss puppeteer Margrit Gysin knocks on the book's cover, the mouse comes out and the bear
follows. Girl mouse and boy bear want to have a party to celebrate but there is so much to do. The trials and tribulations of little Mimi and Brumm become uncomfortably familiar and human. A wonderful story for children aged 3 and above.
July 21 and 22. India Habitat Centre. For details, call 43663333

A passion for Kathakali
Bangalore-based dancer Prabal Gupta performs at the IIC next Thursday. Initially trained under the legendary Kalamandalam Govindan Kutty, he is learning the nuances of the Stree Vesham genus of Kathakali under Sri Fact Padmanabhan these days. A graded artist with Doordarshan, Probal was recently awarded with the Swara Kala Gaurav Award for his efforts to establish Kathakali in Karnataka. The artistic director of Centre for Kathakali Art in Bangalore regularly gives lecture demonstrations on the dance form on Doordarshan. He also reviews dance performances.
July 21, 6.30 pm, India International Centre. For details, call 24609323

Addicted to rhythm
Seshadri Iyengar is a neo classical Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, homoeopathic physician and aerobics instructor rolled into one. Based in Bangalore as well as London, Iyengar was born into a family of art connoisseurs and naturally gravitated towards rhythm, music and dance at the age of 9. He also dons the hats of performer, choreographer and a teacher. Watch the versatile dancer perform next week.
July 18, India Habitat Centre.
For details, call 43663333

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The making of Delhi
The show promises a peek into the building of Delhi —physically and culturally — through a family's viewfinder. Photographer Ram Rahman will present images selected from work over the last 35 years; as well as vintage photographs taken by his father, Habib Rahman many of which go back to the mid-1950s. The exhibits will include old magazines and press cuttings.
July 21 onwards. India International Centre. Call 24609323

Also playing

For harmony's sake
The India Harmony Foundation hosts Celebrating Saawan in Purani Dilli next week. The idea is to revive the spirit of harmony prevalent in the Purani Dilli of Bahadur Shah Zafar's reign. Through his patronage of literature, poetry and arts, Zafar brought in a culture of unity among its people. On July 18, the Vice President will bestow the Chishti Harmony Award, 2011 to Pt Yugal Kishor Saran Shastri of Ayodhya, who has been working for the cause of amity between the Hindu and Muslim communities in Ayodhya.
July 18-19, India International Centre. For details, call 24609323

Striking the right notes
Versatility could be her middle name. Piano artiste Ankita Kumar, who performs at Habitat World next week, is also a a trained screenwriter from the Film and Television Institute of India. Trained at the Delhi School of Music in 1995, Kumar has been teaching the nuances of piano to 30 students at Brian Silas School of Instrumental Music since 2006. In her other,
writer avatar, she teaches screenwriting at International School of Media and Entertainment Studies, Noida. She has also assisted filmmaker Prakash Jha in the movie Apharan during 2004-05.
July 19, 7.30 pm. India Habitat Centre. For details, call 43663333

Treat for cinema lovers
The festival Cinephilia and Beyond features innovative sessions, film screenings and interactive workshops for lovers of cinema. The three-day programme will be hosted next week by Cine Darbaar in association with the Japan Foundation, Iran Culture House and Sri Aurobindo Center for arts and culture. Acclaimed filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta, winner of the Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival and The Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival, will conduct a masterclass for cinema connoisseurs on July 23.
Entry to the festival and workshops is free. For details, call 9958301195 or mail: artisticdirector@cinedarbaar.com