Lifestyle
Relationships
Thursday, 10 Mar 2011
Sports
Business
Health
Art
Culture
Environment
Education
Information Technology
Besides being the owner of the popular Hotel Leonaras, the jolly Jerome Mendes is an avid art collector and patron. Along with artwork from a few artists in Goa, he put his collection on display in an exhibition called ‘Spirit of Goa’ in the vicinity of the hotel itself. Herald finds out more Photos by Roz
ario Estibeiro
BY NOMRATHA FERNANDES HERALD FEATURES eonaras is a popular hang-out joint for those living in the villages of Verna and Nuvem in South Goa. It has its snack and drinks section, a hotel with a variety of foods on the menu, quite surprisingly a hair and beauty salon in the vicinity and very interestingly, a space dedicated to art. The myriad works of art find themselves in one room, neatly placed in accordance to artist and type of art; but there’s more! Head inside the three-floored hotel and you will find proof that Jerome Mendes, owner of Leonaras, is surely in love with art. The art space aside, the interiors and exteriors of his hotel are almost compact with frame after frame of art. The frames include old posters, paintings, mirage images all in an explosion of colour and creativity. A scan through the colourful, choc-o-block art space and one will see a variety of artwork on display, in different forms and using different media. All had their artistic value and beauty, but a few that stood out were the large paintings – acrylic and mix media on canvas – by the Goan artists. Among the ones special to Jerome was a cross made of solid gold. The cross is one among the many religious artworks put up here. It does not stop at just Catholicism with Jerome being a Catholic, but goes on to depict Hindu Gods and Goddesses in all their magnificence and might. Also, famous mythological scenes from Hindu scriptures stare at you from large brown frames. “I am a man of faith, its true, but I believe that all religions and every human being should be treated equally,” he says. The same clearly applies to his art collection. Elaborating on the beginning of his fifteen-year collection, Jerome says, “When I was a young man, I met a Goan artist who would paint on
L
silver foil and work with metal. I liked a lot of his work and began buying them. I’ve always had a liking for art.” After a tour of the entire property and an obvious question will be, ‘How did you manage to collect all this?’ “I travel. I love it. I’ve travelled a lot to many parts of the world. These travels of course give me a chance to look at some beautiful art, some of which I bring back home to Goa,” he answers. The collection he has amassed has almost all popular artistic forms and types – paintings in oil watercolour and acrylic; china paintings;, ceramics and tribal art besides plenty of crafts both Goan and from other parts of India as well. While most is from his travels, others are from his friends and other art collectors. In this way, he patronises art from all over the world, promotes Goan artists and most importantly, opens the door to the Goan populace to the variety the world has to offer in the realm of art. “It did start with just a collection but then I realised that all of this has to be put on display for the Goan people, to enrich their knowledge of the variety of art,” he says with meaning.
Okhot zori zalem voizachem, tori udok zai bainchem -Anonymous
Tourism
Parenting
email us at: goasheartbeat@herald-goa.com
It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense - Robert Ingersoll
T
he US Army has introduced yoga for the first time in its physical fitness regimen. The changes in its ‘combat readiness test’ are being made as part of an overhaul of its fitness programme for the first time in 30 years. The training will incorporate the elements of yoga and benefits of rest among other workouts. The new regimen, announced March 1, will be carried out in phases. “There have been all kinds of rumors about what this is and what it isn’t. People have said, ‘It’s yoga-like, it’s like Pilates’… And frankly, it is all those things,” stated Gen. Mark Hertling, deputy commanding general for initial military training at the US Army’s Training and Doctrine Command. He pointed out that tough training leads to stress, fractures and other injuries. Hence, the new doctrine extols the virtues of breaks on long marches. This new training is a departure from how the army tests its soldiers. “We’ve only done push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run for the past 30 years,” said Hertling, but “none of those address the kinds of things soldiers are asked to do in combat.” To address this issue, shuttle runs and long jumps have been added to the fitness programme, he said. (Courtesy: IANS)
Delhi Slum Children to now study in Australia
I
Unveiling a different aspect of beautiful T i b e t t o d a y, a r t i s t Subodh Kerkar is bringing to Goa their tradition of the prayer flags through his installation. With this, Subodh aims at breaking barriers by creating the largest land art project in India. The artist reveals
Travel
US Army incorporates Yoga in Training
Dreams to unfold with Unfurled Prayer Flags
f Mumbai’s slum children could walk the red carpet at the prestigious Academy Awards ceremony in 2009 for Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, Delhi’s urban poor youth will have a chance to go all the way to Australia for studying. Under an exchange programme between Delhi-based NGO Asha and the University of Melbourne, selected students from around 400 slum youths currently studying in Delhi University will get this golden opportunity. “Education is the only way for these children to break the shackles of poverty and take part in the economic progress of this country. They are as talented and intelligent as other students. They lack opportunity and we are providing them with that,” says Dr Kiran Martin, a paediatrician and founder of the NGO that works for welfare of slum dwellers. “Delhi has some 1,500 slums. Every third Delhi resident lives
BY DOLCY D’CRUZ HERALD FEATURES alking along the Calangute-Baga belt, one can observe Tibetan markets selling jewellery, gems, silverwork and the most revered statues of Buddha. They always sit together and sell their wares, not really bothered if some customer prefers buying from another vendor. Nothing seems to disturb their amicability and they sit chatting, joking but never quarreling in public. That is one of the major qualities that Subodh Kerkar noticed within the Tibetan community. “I often see them sit in tranquility, almost like they are sitting and meditating like Buddha. Unlike other vendors, they don’t use any gimmick to sell their ware,” says Kerkar, a well known installation artist who will install the largest land art project in India. “I have always admired the Dalai Lama and his teaching that happiness is the purpose of life interests me tremendously. Almost one and a half years back, I visited Sikkim and was amazed to see an ocean of flags in the sky on the Himalayas and the wonderful sound that the flags make in the wind. From then, I was toying with the idea of doing something with the flags known as ‘Lung Tas’ or prayer flags and the Tibetan culture. As a member of the committee for the Festival of Ideas, I was pleased to have lunch with the Dalai Lama with the Chief Minister of Goa. I told him about my project and he informed me to put it on display on March 10, 2011 as it is the 52nd anniversary of the uprising in Tibet against China. I dropped all my previous projects and concentrated on getting this land art project called ‘Unfolding of a Dream’ ready for the day,” says Subodh. A prayer flag is a colorful panel of rectangular cloth, often found strung along mountain ridges and peaks high in the
W
Fashion
GOA’S HEARTBEAT
Stepping into a Dazzling Realm of Art
Trial version at Morjim beach
Entertainment
in a slum colony and around 86 per cent of the urban poor in Delhi are illiterate. By the age of 14, only 30 per cent of slum children attend school,” she adds. Coming from a background of neglect and poverty, these students have fought against all odds to get into Delhi University through merit. These youngsters needed some counselling and personality development programmes before joining the college, as they had not mingled with students who were wealthy and from good public schools. “We had to build their confidence and tell them that they are no less than anyone else – and at the end of the day, the great equaliser will be how well they do in their exams,” says Dr Martin. Apart from that, the NGO had to convince their parents to allow them to study further. “Nobody in our family has studied so much before us. Our parents are proud and supportive of us now,” says first year B Tech Engineering student, Mahesh, who lives in Dr Ambedkar Basti slum colony. Still facing problems like noisy neighbourhood, lack of electricity and family problems, these students study in college libraries and study centres set up by the NGO for better concentration. Other children in their localities look up to them as role models and many of them want to study further. Dr Martin says that she wants to make it a movement and more and more slum children should get education. “We have set an example. Now, the government should come forward and help others. These children have proved that with the right opportunity, they are no less than others.” (Courtesy: PTI)
Himalayas. They are used to pray for blessings on their land and people and they are left on the hills until they fade away, as it is believed that once the colour fades, their prayers are answered. In Goa, the flags will be on display till March 17, 2011. The project ‘Unfolding of a Dream’ will be on display from today, March 10, 2011, 6pm onwards on the Vagator beach where the flags with bulbs on them are arranged in a spiral form coming down from the Vagator hill and heading to the beach. “As Tibet has a population of 600 million people, I will use 600 prayer flags ranging in the shades of red and attached with bulbs on each bamboo. I have used 4 kms of wire for the project. It is the largest project in Goa and the largest land art project in India. It will be a visually delightful project and I want the people of Goa to enjoy it. The installation will also include an interweaving choreographed procession of 200 Torch-bearing Tibetans in a ‘Mashall’ March. We currently have approximately 400 Tibetans living in Goa but as it is time for the Tibetan Prayer Flags reopening of schools in Tibet, most of them have headed home to reach their children who were in Goa for holidays. Most of the Tibetans are used to Goa and speak in Konkani and yet have kept their tradition alive.” On March 10, 2011, at 6pm, the installation will be on display with the Torch March by Tibetans on Vagator beach followed by prayer and meditation by Buddhist prayer groups. The installation will be formally inaugurated by Chief Minister Digamber Kamat. A documentary film ‘Never Give Up’ will be screened at 7pm. On March 11, the Indo-Tibetan Cultural festival will be inaugurated by Nilkanth Halarnkar, Minister for Tourism. Gesse Wangchung and Tashi Phuntsok will give a talk followed by ‘Cham’, the Tibetan mask dance. Tibetan handicrafts stalls and food stalls will add to the authenticity of the evening.