Culture beat

The city is expanding fast and with it the culture scene has been thriving. If you thought 2015 was overwhelming with the many artists who performed here, you will love 2016.

Next year is going to be a whirlwind of events. The art scene is gearing up for some big shows and two of them are retrospective events. “There is going to be a retrospective show on Laxma Goud and it’s one of the first times that such a show has been done on a Telangana artist,” says Lakshmi Nambiar from Shrishti Art Gallery.

The other retrospective show is one on eminent painter Jogen Chowdhury. “We celebrate the artist through talks, presentations and his work,” says Prashant Lahoti from Kalakriti Art Gallery.

For those who are fascinated by art camps, here’s some exciting news. A famous foundation is coming with an art camp that will see prominent artists from across the country. “The camp is promising in terms of how much the artists can learn. Also, it’s a fantastic way to kick-start the new year!” says Hanumantha Rao from Gallery Space.

But the year is not just about soothing the eyes, the music scene too has some very promising events and a Carnatic music archive too. “There will be a 500-hour archive of Carnatic music that will be launched in January,” says danseuse Dr Yashodha Thakore. “The founder of Saptaparni, Anuradha Prasad, along with artist R.T. Chary have put together this archive and one can get to hear music from the time Carnatic music was first recorded,” she adds.

In the list of artistes who will be coming down to the city, the first happens to be Zakir Hussain. “Artists such as Akhilesh Gundecha, Pandit Kalinath Mishra and Indian Carnatic vocalist Abhishek Raghuram will be also performing in the first half of the year,” says musician Jaywant Naidu.

Apart from the creation of new spaces, the theatre community is going all out to bring different events to town. R.K. Shenoy from Dramanon, the group that is famous for the skits competition, has something exciting for the juniors. Rathna Sekhar is also planning to revive the Hyderabad Theatre Festival format.