Tales of Pune city in the form of themed calendars
Punekars, with a creative zeal, have brought out special theme calendars to welcome 2019
Landmark monuments in Indian cinema
National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has produced landmark monuments in Indian cinema to showcase the diversity of culture and heritage as depicted in Indian cinema. Twelve monuments viz Brindavan gardens, Mysuru; Charminar, Hyderabad; Gateway of India, Mumbai; Martand Sun Temple, Anantnag, have been picked up, said Prakash Magdum, director NFAI, where many of the films have been shot on location and they play an important role in the films or have added to the films by filming appropriate song and dance.
Photographs from some films like Howrah Bridge (1958) and Gateway of India in Mani Ratnam’s film Bombay are also featured in this calendar which will be available online, from next week on the NFAI website.
The team worked on this calendar for two months with all the material sourced from the NFAI collection in the documentation and research section. This year, a QR code has been embedded in the calender, which you can scan on your mobile and get additional information about the location and film.
Amalgamation of culture, dance and history
Kalavardhini Charitable Trust’s calendar, Nitrimay Pune, brings a table top view of various known locations of Pune with a dancer posing in front of them.
“This is an amalgamation of culture, dance and history in Pune. The idea came about when we held a special programme of 1,000 classical dancers all dancing together, ” said Arundhati Patwardhan, secretary Kalavardhini charitable trust.
Iconic locations such as Kasba Ganpati temple, Shaniwarwada, Mahatma Phule Mandai, Vaishali restaurant and Sujata Mastani have been featured in the calender. It also depicts Sinhagad fort as part of the valour that Pune portrays. “The idea was to make dance more relevant to the common audiences and we tried to bring out the serene atmosphere that these locations add when put together with the poses and mudras of the dancers in costume”, said Patwardhan. The calendar is priced at ₹200, and is available online.
Me and My Music
Photographer Sateesh Paknikar, who is known for his portrayal of musicians and singers has brought out ‘Swarasadhak 2019’.
“This year, it is a thought process expressed by each artiste on ‘Me and My Music’. I have been lucky to capture the bhava mudras (expressions) and dedication of each artiste on stage,” said Paknikar. “The idea is to share the happiness derived from capturing the timeless moments and revelling in the performance with all music lovers,” he added.
A walk down the memory lane
Vivek Sabnis, a journalist and collector of rare archival photographs has produced a calendar published by Paperleaf, called Pune Nostalgia 2019. The theme is Pune’s rich socio-cultural legacy.
“The idea is to reminisce cherished moments and experiences of the past 125 years of this city. I have a collection of over 100 rare photographs collected throughout my journalism career,” said Sabnis. He remembers how he sometimes spent his entire salary on buying rare photographs from photographers, studios and even scouting the flea markets of Juna Bazaar.
“Initially, the publisher Jatan Bhatavdekar and friends wanted me to create a coffee table book based on my rare photographs, but I wanted it to be a calendar which would be like a centre piece adorning every one’s homes. This is not a business venture, but more like a movement to preserve Pune’s heritage,” adds Sabnis.
To maintain the technical quality of the photo, the publisher has used thick Italian paper with four colour offset printing. What is striking is the first rare photo used for January. The picture is of veteran Marathi writer HN Apte who was also the city president of Poona Municipality and who had invited Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammad Ali Jinnah to Pune.
The group photo is of a convention held before Shaniwarwada in 1915. The other photos in the calendar include Limaye Wada, Dr Shreeram Lagu’s old house on Laxmi road, Ga Di Madgulkar’s bungalow at Wakdewadi, and NS Phadke’s bungalow in Sadashiv peth. For people who enjoy nostalgia and rare collection, then this is for keeps with rare photographs of Pune of the bygone days. It is priced at ₹200 and available with Sabnis.
