Category: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

** Advertising industry veteran Gerson da Cunha dies aged 92

Da Cunha started his career as a journalist, then headed the ad agency Lintas before working with UNICEF

Ad man Gerson da Cunha, a multi-faceted personality, who was also very passionate about civic activism in later years, died here on Friday. He was 92.

Da Cunha, who started his career as a journalist working for the Press Trust of India after graduating in science and then jumped into advertising, was associated with a slew of platforms engaged in civic activism, including AGNI (Action for Good Governance and Networking in India).

** Samanvi bags The Hindu & SaReGaMa M.S. Subbulakshmi Award, 2021

Udupi student pips four finalists for Voice of the Year prize

Samanvi, a second year B. A. student from Udupi, was on Friday awarded The Hindu & SaReGaMa M.S. Subbulakshmi Award, 2021, Voice of the Year, presented by Parry’s Amrit Brown Sugar at the Grand Finale held at The Music Academy here.

“I plan to pursue music as a career,” said the youngster who has been undergoing training with Guru V. Aravinda Hebbar in Gurukulavasam and under Chitravina N. Ravikiran.

Ms. Samanvi, who has been learning and performing along with her long-time friend Archana, will get to record an album with SaReGaMa.

The award was presented by Aruna Sairam, renowned Carnatic vocalist and guru, and Navaneeth L.V., CEO, The Hindu Group.

** Tribute: The departure of director K.S. Sethumadhavan marks the end of a glorious era in South Indian cinema

He made several landmark films with brilliant performances that shaped Malayalam cinema’s style and idiom

In a career spanning more than three decades, K.S. Sethumadhavan produced some of the most memorable cinema, both commercially successful and thematically challenging. He directed films in all the South Indian languages and in Hindi, and won numerous awards, including 10 National Film Awards, 9 Kerala State Film Awards and the J.C. Daniel Award of the Kerala government.

** National Film Archive of India to restore Satyajit Ray’s Pratidwandi

The film, released in 1970, formed the first in the legendary director’s ‘Calcutta Trilogy’

For most cinema aficionados across the globe, instant identification with legendary film-maker Satyajit Ray’s cinema comes with either the celebrated ‘Apu trilogy’ of films (1955-59), or other classics like Charulata, Mahanagar (The Big City) or Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder).

** Founder of World Konkani Centre Basti Vaman Shenoy passes away

The founder of World Konkani Centre, Mangaluru, Basti Vaman Shenoy passed away on January 2, 2022 due to age related illness.

Mr. Shenoy had served as the president of Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy from 1997 to 2001 and had strived for the inclusion of Konkani in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

** Indian American professor releases a ghazal album

Nostalgia, a contemporary ghazal album, was released by a 59-year-old Indian American professor, Susmita Datta. It brings forth the appeal of a genre noted for showing an astonishing range of expression around its basic themes of love and separation.

Data, currently a professor at the University of Florida is a prominent biostatistics scholar from Kolkata. 

** Sahitya Akademi announces awards in 20 languages

Anuradha Sarma Pujari, Namita Gokhale, Ambai among winners.

The Sahitya Akademi on Thursday announced its awards for 2021 for literary works in 20 languages, including novels in Assamese and English by Anuradha Sarma Pujari and Namita Gokhale respectively.

Among the winners for poetry were Mwdai Gahai (Bodo), Sanjiv Verenkar (Konkani), Hrushikesh Mallick (Odia), Meethesh Nirmohi (Rajasthani), Vindeshwariprasad Mishr ‘Vinay’ (Sanskrit), Arjun Chawla (Sindhi) and Gorati Venkanna (Telugu).

Books of short stories by writers Raj Rahi (Dogri), Kiran Gurav (Marathi), Khalid Hussain (Punjabi), Niranjan Hansda (Santali) and Ambai (Tamil) were among those chosen for the awards.

A biography by D.S. Nagabhushana in Kannada, an autobiography by George Onakkoor in Malayalam, a work of criticism by Wali Mohd. Aseer Kashtawari in Kashmiri and a book of epic poetry by Chhabilal Upadhyaya in Nepali were awarded as well. Two plays — by Bratya Basu in Bengali and Daya Prakash Sinha in Hindi — were selected for the award.