Kirtana Kumar, Priya Mendens and Shalini Subramanian join Thermal And A Quarter at The Highland Nectar, a spacious and lively bar occupying pride of place at the Grand Arrival Court of the ITC Royal Gardenia. Look forward to an evening of uplifting performances as the divas regale you with their chosen favourites and lend their signature flourish to TAAQ’s unique repertoire.
Being in college, going out is to Hard Rock Cafe is something that one has weigh the pros and cons of very carefully. But when TAAQ is playing at Hard Rock, it’s a no-brainer. You know that you’re going to get your money’s worth. In fact I think it’s a steal!
Gig alert. Thursday, August 5. Hard Rock Cafe, Bangalore.
My piece on the music of Thermal And A Quarter, published in today’s Mint Lounge, traces the history of the band’s music, its relevance and rootedness to Bangalore’s cultural milieu and argues that rock music can actually come from a deep place — if only you care to listen.
At the One Small Love concert on February 14, Saswati Chakravarti, former senior editor of The Economic Times and an ardent Bangalorean, examined the question of language as a tool of cultural assimilation.
Saswati arrived 25 years ago in Bangalore from Kolkata (then Calcutta). Though she did not feel like an outsider in the city that “accepted differences”, she learned Kannada and explored theatre, film and music in the native language of her adopted city.
But did her learning Kannada make her an insider? Does knowing to speak Kannada give her a feeling of empowerment? Through this process of assimilation, what happened to the Bengali in her? Can the notions of language and culture be used interchangeably as they often are today?
Where do we draw the line? And who will draw it?
Watch the video for an enlightening perspective from this acclimated Bangalorean.
Free speech is music to our ears, indeed. Speaking at ‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore’ on February 14, Bangalore-based journalist, teacher and author C K Meena gets under the skin of Love.
C K Meena, well known to Bangaloreans for her tart, witty columns on life in their ever-changing cityscape, has written two books of fiction — the semi-autobiographical Black Lentil Doughnuts and the crime thriller Dreams for the Dying.
When we played in Pune last year we decided we weren’t going back without cake and cookies from the famous German Bakery. Enjoying them in Bangalore the next day, we didn’t foresee having to reflect on that simple pleasure like this.
Terror could have struck then as it did on the night of February 13, 2010. But we lived to write this. And we shall make the most of the life and joy granted to us.
It is somewhat edifying that we were able to reach out to Pune on February 14. Opus Pune webcast the One Small Love concert live to its patrons.
Thank you for turning up (and turning down your other Valentine’s Day engagements) and for your support and encouragement right through this initiative.
Driving directions to OPUS IN THE CREEK from Bangalore
Address:
#2, Doddenakkundi Industrial Area, Opp. Shell Petrol Station, Brookefields Main Road, Off ITPL Road, Bangalore
Phone: 9844030198 / 080-40943031
From MG Road via Old Madras Rd and Whitefield Rd
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From MG Road via Old Airport Road
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From Marathahalli Bridge
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From Koramangala via Inner Ring Road and [...]
Last year, Bruce wrote the lyrics of ‘One Small Love’ and put it to music with his band, Thermal And A Quarter. Join him and Thermal And A Quarter with other artists, speakers and thinkers on the song’s first anniversary.
‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore’, an assertion of liberty, love and happiness, celebrates the birthday of love.
Flautist Ravichandra Kulur has come a long way from his hometown in Udupi, about an hour’s drive north of Mangalore. Brought up in a family of musicians, Ravi learned quickly that music can unite people irrespective of culture or nationality. Join Ravi as he performs with Thermal And A Quarter and other musicians at ‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore’, a convention of peace-loving citizens, at Opus in the Creek in Bangalore on February 14. Entry is free.
Draw the line. Spread the love.
Writer and cartoonist Bijoy Venugopal believes that anger makes protests look ugly and diverts attention from their core cause. People often feel that to protest, they must shout slogans, burn effigies or blacken the faces of suspected villains. As artists and writers, we must find unique expression for our protest. We must stretch our imagination to channel righteous anger into thought-provoking and enduring art that adds meaning and lends perspective to protest.
It’s easy to say cheese, but what does it take to get people to smile at each other?
“People smile for the camera, but I wish they would just smile otherwise,” says Zubair, a Bangalore-based photographer.
Join him and other concerned Bangaloreans at ‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore’, a celebration of diversity and freedom with performances by Thermal And A Quarter, Swarathma, Gerard Machado, Konarak Reddy, Alwyn Fernandes, Karan Joseph, Ravi Kulur and other artists and opinion leaders on February 14 at Opus in the Creek, Whitefield Road, Bangalore.
Draw the line. Spread the love.
Musician Alwyn Fernandes was raised in Mangalore, where he went to college. Today, he is saddened by the social changes that have cast a cloud over his hometowns vibrant multicultural people.
Swarathma, Indias hottest new band (they swept the JD Rock Awards), is also a multicultural ensemble with members who hail from across the country.
Vasu Dixit and Varun Murali invoke Sant Kabir in one of their songs to explain that nothing has changed in the last five hundred years when it comes to womens empowerment. On the one hand we tout the power of freedom and yet, on the other, the same people misuse freedom for their own interests.
Join them and other artists, musicians and concerned citizens at ‘One Small Love Bangalore for Mangalore’ on Feb 14 in Bangalore to celebrate the spirit of freedom.
Draw the line. Spread the love.
Martin D’Souza, a clubber and performer who has called Bangalore home for 24 years, feels that moral policing threatens not just artists, musicians and performers but audiences as well, as it robs them of their right to be informed and entertained in accordance with their choice.
Join Martin and other concerned Bangaloreans as they come together for ‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore’, a celebration of the spirit of freedom and tolerance with music, food and free speech.
Divya Joseph, advertising professional, singer and ardent Bangalorean, reminds us that the freedom to choose is a fundamental right for men and women alike. Join Divya and other concerned citizens at ‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore’, a celebration with music, food and free speech at Opus in the Creek, Whitefield Road, Bangalore on February 14, 2010. Show your support by becoming a fan of One Small Love on Facebook. Draw the line. Spread the love.
“One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore” – a celebration with music, food and free speech with performances by Konarak Reddy, Allwyn Fernandes, Gaurav Vaz, Karan Joseph, Ravi Kulur, Gerard Machado, Swarathma and Thermal And A Quarter. 7 PM, Feb 14
Special thanks to Merwyn Rodrigues for the poster. And, eternally, to the incredible folks at Happy for dreaming up the music video that started it all.
That TAAQ (still an unsigned band) was not from Bollywood-besotted Mumbai or Hindi-mein-gao-yaar Delhi or still-smoking-the-Sixties Kolkata was really what went against them when they started. Or the fact that their music was a leap year ahead of the public imagination — I mean, how many Benadryl-swillers orgasming in the moshpit had actually heard of (let alone heard) Steely Dan and Pat Metheny, or even imagined that they could influence an Indian band’s sound? The few critics of this counterculture — jealous jilted lovers of it mostly — judged the music by a myopic yardstick: the done-to-death genres of metal and dinosaur rock.
Never has a Hard Rock Cafe gig sounded so delicious (loud, yes, but good) and not in a long time has TAAQ played its four-chambered heart out like it did on Thursday night at Bangalore. And I say this as a very disgruntled photographer who found the lighting, the cross-beams and the fat railings thwarting the remotest photographic possibility. The one thing that made my night was the way these guys played, and the way the gig sounded.
We’re back in Delhi this weekend.
Sunday night, 9ish, at the Garden of the Five Senses on the occasion of Kingfisher Rocktoberfest. Be there and tell everyone who missed us last time to make no excuses this time round.
It’s Kannada Rajyotsava back in Karnataka on November 1. All of you partying back home, don’t miss us too much!
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