A little update, or three

...as I get back to normalcy after the cricket

This Friday at the Bangalore International Centre, a dream comes true. Karthika Nair, who I’ve fanboyed since I first came across her brilliant interpretation of the Mahabharata, Until The Lions, will speak of, and read from, her latest — A Different Distance, a conversation in verse where two brilliant poets reflect on their world. I get to share a stage with an idol who has since become a very good friend, and to listen. Details here — if you are in Bangalore and can make it, please do. (And if you do, come up and say hello.)

On a somewhat related note, I spent Sunday (12th Jan) at Gallery Time and Space, on Lavelle Road, attending the inauguration of a solo exhibition of sculptures by the much-awarded artist and sculptor Dimpy Menon, at the invitation of her husband and the doyen of contemporary cricket writers, Suresh Menon.

The artist, above, and the art, below

Dimpy’s work is not representation so much as a meditation on the universal language of movement, stillness, and organic connection. What strikes you is how she sees nature not merely as a subject but as a living, breathing collaborator. Each piece, from the serene ‘Garden Dweller’ to the kinetic ‘Swaying’, speaks a dialect of bodily expression that requires no verbal translation.

I wanted to chat with Dimpy about the process — the wax bronze casting technique that requires more than mere technical skill. But she was busy with a roomful of guests come to celebrate the occasion, so that is a to-do for another day.

It’s been a long while since I managed to go outside the confines of my study, to socialize. And it was worth it for the time spent in conversation with friends. Suresh, of course, but also Sharda Ugra, Context publisher and editor Ajitha, non-fiction writer Sugata Srinivasaraju who told me about his upcoming book…

And then there was the legendary EAS Prasanna, with whom I got to share egg sandwiches and talk of cricket, of cricket books, and of honesty in the written word.

A Sunday afternoon well spent. The exhibition is on till 1 February — if you are in Bangalore, make the time to drop by.

In passing, the same evening I came across this excellent story in the New York Times on a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, whose sculptures are now on display at the very museum he spent half a lifetime guarding.

The post-Border Gavaskar Trophy period has been particularly busy, hence the silence. Among other things, I wrote a piece for The Playbook on Indian cricket’s endemic faultlines.

Thus much by way of updates; regular — that is, mostly non-cricket — updates resume shortly.