We feel you, if you’re done watching Game of Thrones. We also feel you, if you don’t have much capacity left for the Hollywood science-fiction or the typical action/drama that Bollywood has to offer. Moreover, we couldn’t agree with you more if you think live gigs and Sufi nights in cafes is now becoming, albeit enjoyable, a little too regular maybe?
The daily grind takes a toll on all of us, and sooner or later we resort to any of the above mentioned methods of taking some time off and regaining ourselves. And it’s not like you don’t have other options! You have Pokemon Go now. Netflix. Shopping? Online games and Netflix and movies are all too substitutable. And even if your world does get better when you shop, like Rebecca Bloomwood’s from Confessions of a Shopaholic, you know that shopping is not all that wonderful. It’s typical.
This time around, abandon these alternatives, grab your gang, and do something totally fun, exciting and enjoyable. Plan some cool outings with your buds in the first half of August to any of these hand-picked creative events, each one as good as any.
1. A MOVIENG WAY TO EXPERIENCE SINGAPORE
When we think of experiencing another city/country, the first obvious choice is to travel there, and while that is not always feasible, we try their cuisine, read, watch movies, and so on. Sadly for us, movies are automatically equated to either Bollywood or Hollywood. Everything else is conveniently invisible.
Come next month, experience Singapore through the third instalment of Singapore Film Festival, which will showcase three films – 7 Letters, an anthology of seven short films; Singapore Minstrel, based on an Indian-origin busker; and Utter, a series of three animated shorts. Know that there is more to Singapore than Universal Studios and Sentosa Island. Explore its artistic potential. What’s more, each screening will be followed by an interactive session with a participating filmmaker, and anyone who is interested in the intricate art of film making has sure to gain something from the talks.
Date: 5-7th August, 2016
Time: 7 pm onwards
Venue: India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Estate
Photo courtesy : eazysundays.com
2. LAUGH TILL YOU CRY
This will cease to be just a WhatsApp emoticon, if you decide to go to this amazing stand up comedy show ‘Either Kill or Die‘ (in English/Hindi) by Nishant Tanwar. Grinning is easy, laughing difficult, and making somebody laugh is another ballgame altogether! It requires creativity and dexterity and proper execution. In times when we constantly complain of anything and everything around us – from our work load to enormously long traffic jams to such annoying mosquitoes in this weather, it seems only logical to actually laugh off our myriad worries and complaints of life. And when was the last time you laughed so hard that your stomach hurt anyway? This stand up comedian is here to make sure that you have the time of your life and laugh like there’s no tomorrow. We assure your stomach will hurt from all the laughing.
Date: 1st August, 2016
Time: 7:30pm (2 hours long)
Venue: Canvas, People and Co. Premises number 5, Building number 8, Tower B, Cyber City, Gurgaon
3. YOU WILL BE DRAWN TO THIS
For all those you have an eye for art, this solo exhibition by late artist Master K.G. Subramanyan will serve as a gateway for the artist’s new creations. His artworks done on handmade paper and coloured gouache leave an even greater impact. You will find that there is intense application of mind, and one would have to watch rather closely to absorb the expressive visual modulation of the colour grid. His compelling compositions will provide you with an insight into his spontaneity.
Photo courtesy : dailyo.in
Date: 1st-14th August, 2016
Time: 11am – 7pm (Sunday closed)
Venue: Aakriti Art Gallery Pvt. Ltd., F-213/A, Old M.B. Road, Lado Sarai
4. ILLUMINATE YOUR LIFE
We’ve heard of cooking workshops and karate workshops and dance workshops and maybe self healing workshops, but lighting workshops? Yup. Here is one! This workshop titled ‘Perception of Colours‘ will see a renowned lighting professional artist from Japan teach you some tricks-of-the-trade in an intensive, hands-on workshop. Mr. Ryoya Fudetani, after having experienced design in architectonics field, interiors, and displays, has worked in scenographic design with lighting since 2005. So if you’re a design/art student or mildly interested in film making, then this a must for you, but even if you aren’t, we recommend you step out of your comfort zone and try something that is going to leave you pleasantly surprised and hooked.
Photo courtesy : vimeo.com
Date: 4th August, 2016
Time: 4pm-6pm
Venue: 5A Ring Road, Lajpat Nagar 4
5. AN ARTFUL INDEPENDENCE DAY
How can we talk of August and not talk about Independence Day? Our country, which has been called by Mark Twain as “Sone Ki Chidiya” or “Golden Sparrow” will complete 69 years of its independence this year.
Mark Twain summarized why he called India “Golden Sparrow” -“The land of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendour and rags, of palaces and hovels, of famine and pestilence, of genii and giants and Aladdin lamps, of tigers and elephants, the cobra and the jungle.”
To say that these past 7 decades have been ‘eventful’ would be to belittle it, but at the same time, a lot more is yet to come. As an ode to how far we’ve come, 69 artists have come together to re-imagine 69 years of Independent India. Through art. All the artworks will be printed on archival canvas and unveiled at an exhibition cum sale on 15th August. And what’s more, 50% of the proceeds from the sale of the artworks will be donated to an NGO called Karm Marg, a non profit care home for disadvantaged children providing education, skill development and employment.
Date and Time: 12th August, 11am – 18th August, 8pm
Let August be your most creative month this year!
