REALTY SPEAK: Why do people ’build’ this dream?

Bangalore



RAJ S. RANGARAJAN

Why is it that people want to own a house and live in it?
What exactly is the drive?

Have you noticed how owing property seems to be a global hope? Everyone and anyone – whether from Bangalore or Boston or Bermuda – dreams of owning a piece of land. Some like to build on it, others think of using it as an investment. Indian legends of yore and generic grandma stories have held forth benevolently on the advantages and benefits of owning land. Looks like these days, many of the old dictates are being taken to heart with Indians buying land as tho ugh it is going out of style. More so in some states of the Indian union.

Wonder why the fascination with land. Why not a pond or a river? We have heard of millionaires who own ranches and rivers, of celebrities who own castles and build lakes, but land – with brick and mortar – seems to be the common man’s dream. Let’s face it: a river or a stream is also property, but it is not hard-core. Not too many people know what to do with a body of water, unless they are creative architects who may be able to work wonders with water. Proponents of vasthu sastra talk favourably of water playing a significant role in a practitioner’s well-being or of the institution he or she owns or belongs to.

In the United States, the “American dream” presupposes owning property. At least that is the collective wisdom on the subject. Why is owning property so important? Why cannot one pass one’s time on earth without owning property? Is it the same syndrome that forces a schoolboy to scratch his name on his desk for immortality? Is it because we are basically earth-prone and of the earth? For some reason common behaviour has it that one should own property – a roof over one’s head – the famous makhaan that rounds up roti and kapda in populist culture.

Now, thanks to India’s plunge into material success and obviously liking it, the country’s rich and famous and wannabee celebrities are upping the ante to the next level. Apart from land – a house or a bungalow (I gather, these days the operative word is villa), Indians these days aspire to build a lovely, cosy and warm villa with petunias and geraniums (read garden!). And, in this home, they want to fill in luxury items from different parts of the world: perhaps Muranos from Venice, Wedgewoods from Britain or Farsh rugs from Persia, and of course the mandatory mementos of their trips to lands far and away.

Cosmic connection?

What is it that makes the human spirit want to build a home and decorate it? Is it listening to dictates of what is popular and acceptable or is it the cosmic connection to establish a place to stay? Perhaps a psychologist can tackle this better? With affluence has come an interest and obsession to expand one’s horizons. If you have a good home, what is wrong in having one with luxury items? Till the other day, “we couldn’t afford those lovely items” was the common refrain. Now anything is affordable. Hedonism and splurging are in, being a home bird and saving money are out.

Thus, we find Indians buying wall hangings and paintings, attending art shows, admiring antiques and discussing art. There always existed the artistic class, but more and more people have joined the bandwagon in exposing themselves to culture. Whether one is discussing figurative art, abstractionist art or even installations, we now have a new breed of Indians walking that extra mile to expose themselves to aesthetic pleasure.

At five-stars we overhear people discussing younger artists such as Raqib Shaw, Atul Dodiya and Jitish Kallat with older men Husain, Gaitonde and Tyeb Mehta having crossed into the big leagues – the million-plus dollar threshold.

In conclusion the question remains: Why does one have to own property? Any takers?

(The author can be reached at raj.rangarajan@gmail.com)

Ramayana in New York

The South Asian Outlook, September 2007


BY RAJ S. RANGARAJAN *





(Photos Courtesy: Jay Mandal, New York)

Summer and stories always go together. Whether it is Canada, U.S.A., India or Australia, there is something special about summer. Imaginations run wild and children tend to become creative and sometimes get into raptures in the heat. Adults spin yarns and create magic for the young listeners.
India and Indians in Canada have had a long storytelling tradition with the generic grandma constantly regaling young minds with humour, exaggeration, suspense and adventure, incredibly-talented fairies, winged animals and huge aircraft – all for passing time on a lazy evening.
For more than 50 years – on Saturdays – during the summer, New York City’s children and adults have assembled around Hans Christian Andersen’s statue in Central Park to hear tales told by well-known storytellers and performers such as Victor Borge, Eva LaGallienne and Diane Wolkstein. Hans Christian Andersen was known for his fairy tales and his statue is a well-known Central Park landmark.
This year – the 51st anniversary – it was the turn of Indian performer, Anita Ratnam.
Anita narrated her Dance Katha, Tales from India as part of the celebrations to honour a veteran storyteller of 40 years, Diane Wolkstein who created CelebrateStory: storytelling as entertainment. Anita enacted scenes from the epic Ramayana that were based on “Neo Bharatam” that she created ten years ago as an artistic archetype.

Anita says, she was inspired to create Neo Bharatam after seeing the 1999 science fiction (sci-fi) movie Matrix where Thomas Anderson, played by Keanu Reeves, has the alias ‘Neo.’ In Anita’s case, the search was “to find an original way to protect my work, interpret new nuances, rhythms and moves that defined my style and creativity.”

CelebrateStory is actually a special “thank you” to the City of New York and to the caretakers of Central Park for nourishing not only Diane's Wolkstein’s career but also that of so many other storytellers from New York and elsewhere. Many of the festival tellers – Laura Simms, Regina Ress, Ron Sopyla, Therese Folkes-Plair, Gioia Timpanelli, and Bill Gordh are in fact long-time residents of the New York metropolitan area. This year, special guests included Raouf Mama (from Benin in West Africa), Michael Parent (of Portland, Maine), Dovie Thomason, a Native Indian (of Lakota and Plains Apache heritage) and India’s Anita Ratnam.

Known for her versatile prowess in Bharata Natyam and other dance forms, Anita translated her love of mythology into a new genre of “dancing stories” for an urban audience and “conveyed the stories of her soil in English.”

On her 40th anniversary of performing at Central Park Diane Wolkstein, also was in action. She inaugurated the day with a small sampler of the stories told through her career, including Andersen’s comic tale of “Hans Clodhopper,” followed by “The Glass Mountain” (her retelling of the Brothers Grimm's “Old Rinkrank”), and others.

Diane’s webmaster in New York, Philip David Morgan says, “Diane’s kind of storytelling involves the audience directly, whether by asking listeners what they think might happen next (and why), by inviting them to join in the refrain of a song that may be part of the story, or by making the audience part of the story.

Anita opened with “an invocation of Ganesha, the god of all beginnings, how Ganesha got his head (demonstrated with a cut-out of an elephant’s head) and then I moved on to the Rama story; starting with Vishwamitra, the wise priest counseling his wards Rama and Lakshmana, how the prince was banished to the forest and how his adversary Ravana cut off his sister Soorpanakha’s nose (tall Amazonian-looking woman), of Lakshman-rekha and Hanuman, the monkey god who enlisted help from his friends to locate Sita.”

Anita interspersed the English narration with slokas in Sanskrit and Tamil and with “dance movements and expressive articulation, I could capture the essence of the 40-minute presentation. I tried to make the overall effect prismatic and multicultural, being New York.” In a final act of audience participation, Anita handed over “jalra” sets (two-finger cymbals used for rhythmic accompaniment) to the kids urging them to join in a procession towards the lake.
On a salubrious Sunday afternoon in Central Park with distractions such as cyclists, boat enthusiasts and picnickers vying for attention, the writer inquired, “how did you manage to get the attention of the audience?”

Anita’s response: “It was a wonderful feeling narrating the story with adults and children listening intently; there was a certain silent ambience. Since I had thought out the dress and accompaniments earlier, had rehearsed and practiced voice modulation for the open air event distractions didn’t bother me.”

For a predominantly New York audience not familiar with the epic, to a question, “what kind of allegoric metaphor did you create?” Anita said, “the Neo Bharatam-based moves in a free-flowing style blended with sound, dance and pithy explanations helped me communicate. I now have the space and luxury of innovating as a kind of optic idiom.” Through choreographic motifs of her Neo Bharatam, Anita is known to raise the bar, so to speak, with a dance repertoire that crosses national boundaries.

Complimenting both the beautiful weather and a great turnout, Morgan said of the evening: “...it was simply a large, lavish banquet of story that no one could take in all at once. The most you could do was hear and see all you could, and go home grateful for that.” On Anita’s performance, the webmaster added, despite having to dance on concrete and marble in the New York summertime heat, she held the audience rapt throughout.”




(L to R) Regina Ress, Diane Wolkstein, Tamara (from PS 242), and Raouf Mama at CelebrateStory 2007.
Photo courtesy of & ©2007 Philip David Morgan / Cloudstone Productions.

____________
[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel, lifestyles, Indian cinema and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto and India. He can be reached at raj.rangarajan@gmail.com]

What makes a great manager?

Rediff.com -- INDIA ABROAD -- BUSINESS

What makes a great manager

Raj S Rangarajan | September 11, 2007

Why are grizzly bear cubs trained for two years to hook salmon? Why did the Arab bond all day with a ferocious falcon? Did you know that blue tits live as couples until they have reared their young?

These and other questions are answered in a book by an experienced manager.

Interestingly, The Case of the Bonsai Manager (Penguin, India, 264 pages, $11 or Rs 450) is not about plants or Perry Mason. It's about today's managers who, author, R Gopalakrishnan suggests, need to learn to be more intuitional in decision-making. This nonfiction intersects nature and management.

Managing is an elusive task for many. Not everyone is adept at it, many avoid it with a passion and on some, managerial responsibilities are reluctantly thrust. Why then the fascination with the subject? Think: attractive perks, status and rewards that come with being a successful corporate manager in today's business world.

Can a case be made for 'intuitive" thinking in management? Would it be considered kosher in management circles and at institutions where management is taught?

Gopalakrishnan says, it is possible. He talks of how initially he too trod the beaten path in terms of following bell curves, algorithms, and parameters prescribed by management pundits. But, in his later years he has changed and now believes management should comprise a human component where intuition and instinct have roles to play.

The author, executive director of 139-year-old Tata Sons, India which recently acquired Anglo-French steelmaker Corus Steel for $11.3 billion, says, intuition is a vital tool in a manager's armor as much as analysis and empirical data.

Management -- as an entity -- is not a zero-sum game where numbers and results matter more than crushed emotions and feelings. With the number of job firings in so many industries on the rise, the concept is not a friend, rather a presumed adversary to the staff.

Every manager is undoubtedly trying to do his or her job diligently but with the global picture changing ever so often, being ruthless and impersonal seems par to the course.

What is one major management decision you regret making? Didn't intuition help you in this instance?

Author's response: "In chapter 1, I have referred to an episode about marketing concentrated detergents in Arabia. I made two decisions intuitively: one was right (launching a standard detergent) and the other was wrong (building the concentrate plant)."

'Stunted' managers perform below par

If mental growth could be stunted can there be stunted managers? The author answers his own question: 'A stunted manager is one who is operating and working at a level which is well below his potential."

Managers become 'bonsai' through their own acts of omission and commission. A 'permanently stunted manager is found in small companies, multinationals and the public sector -- almost everywhere."

Whether the CEO happens to be a Premji, an Indra Nooyi, or an Ambani, managing is not everyone's cup of tea. American corporate figures such as Jack Welch, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs have shared their management wisdom, but Gopalakrishnan's approach to management pays obeisance at the altar of intuitional thinking.

Former PepsiCo chairman Roger Enrico's management coaching style comes in for praise in 'Bonsai Manager". Enrico reportedly relishes Sambukas at 2 a.m. in his Texas ranch while training his senior managers.

The author's intricate explanations on when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly and how a fly's eye is made up of about 4,000 tiny, hexagonally packed lenses with a 360-degree vision tend to be exhaustive -- even exhausting.

His 70-80 hours of research on the animal kingdom shows. "By understanding how animals respond to ever-present threats, there are memorable lessons for managers," advises Gopalakrishnan.

Why nature for a management book?

Gopalakrishnan says, "Just as authors sometimes weave leadership stories of generals in war, I chose analogies from nature for my book. I realised that most people truly love nature and with sufficient evidence from [television] channels such as Discovery and Animal Planet, I learnt that audience response was positive."

He talks of BRIM -- Brain's Remote Implicit Memory -- where the operative words are 'remote" and 'implicit." These words help us access our memories from caches of stored data over our lifetimes. Explicit knowledge is available in books and CDs but tacit knowledge is available in managers' minds. Does a manager ever think of BRIM when deciding? A remote possibility, perhaps.

Gut feeling

A practising manager for 40 years, Gopalakrishnan says, intuition does manifest itself either as an inner voice or as a vague and unspecified feeling from within, which we call a 'gut' feeling.

The act of choosing is not an analytical or process-driven activity. He advises young managers to 'seek out experiences with multiple challenges in multiple geographies spread over multiple domains within the first twenty years in corporate life: a good guideline for an aspiring general manager.'

In today's global economy with the world continuing to shrink, it is doable.

The author has woven three strands of each concept into one fabric: first the Nature anecdote; second the Management anecdote; and third the Concept or Idea.

He says, 'I first present a real-life business dilemma when my intuition told me one thing and my logic told me another, and how it was resolved. Then came chapters on what exactly intuition is, and how it can be developed. The next three sections concerned ways to enhance intuition: (a) by varied and multiple experiences, (b) by sensing and feeling the signals at the edges of the spectrum, (c) and by reflection and contemplation."

Words of management advice from the author: "Become an intuitive manager first, the practical aspects will come later. Leaders who fail to listen, fail. Socialization, communication, understanding and patience are at the 'heart' of managing. Managers are trained to be efficient, but are they effective?"

Talking of effective, how effective are the muttawah (religious police) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia?

Gopalakrishnan recalls a personal incident that happened in the downtown Ballad area.

"A Tunisian sales manager accompanied me. I inquired, as a newcomer to the city, do you have any words of advice? Keeping in mind strict norms of social interaction in the Middle East, the Tunisian responded: 'Do not walk on the streets with another man's wife.'"

'How would the muttawah know whether the woman accompanying me was my wife?'

The sales manager responded, with great seriousness, 'If you seem to enjoy her company, they would know it is not your wife!'

(Raj S Rangarajan is a New York-based writer).

REALTY SPEAK -- The choice of feeling free

Bangalore



RAJ S. RANGARAJAN

Who doesn’t wish to have the best maid for maintaining a clean home? But heard of instances where domestic help not only washes the dirt away, but the owner’s spirits too? Read on to know the author’s experience…

I feel liberated. Not because my wife left me. Not because I left her. Not because my horde of relatives decided to leave for good. Not because I retired. No, nothing of that sort. I feel free because I fired my house maid, Sitamma. What a relief! The respite is in spite of having three huge bedrooms, a drawing room, a dining room and a kitchen…not to miss the balconies that open to large open spaces that invite some cool breeze and choking dust too. My floors aren't particularly sparkling now, but at least I’m not a bundle of nerves with someone around!

I particularly feel liberated and free as a bird every weekday. Sitamma had refused to mark attendance anyway on Sundays. Now, I don’t have to be constantly waking up early each day expecting her royal presence.

When I hired her three months ago, I suggested a window of between 7 and 7.15 a.m. for reporting for duty as I leave by 8.30 for work. But soon I found myself waiting for her endlessly, allotting as much priority to her cleaning as I would to my work! Punctuality was not her strong point anyway. And, I didn’t like to have a shower when she was cleaning the house. Call it male fetish! I wasn’t prepared to waste my time counting my inventory of stainless spoons and forks every Sunday morning. Not that I have too many ‘chamchas’ and I am not being figurative.

In the three ‘long’ months of our association I found Sitamma dishing out the most creative excuses that you, me and everyone have heard over and over again! “I don’t have a watch,” “I missed my bus,” “The bus broke down,” “My uncle has a heart ailment – I need an advance on my salary,” “My grandpa is likely to die very soon – I need cash to meet him before he quits terra firma,” and the one that gets the cake, “My granduncle fell off a bullock cart in downtown Devanahalli!” My question: “What has all that to do with the price of eggs in Bangalore, or Devanahalli for that matter?” With so many excuses to deal with, I decided to dispense with Sitamma’s services.

Now I don’t have to keep cleaning after all the mess she creates in the first place. I don’t have to keep searching for the broom that mysteriously fell off the first floor verandah when I was shaving. I don’t have to keep looking for those empty beer bottles that I was planning to give to the security guy.

I can clean when I feel like – Sundays notwithstanding – when my whim suits me, even on weekdays. I don’t have to keep buying those detergent floor washers to suit her taste. I don’t have to check what I am wearing when I answer the doorbell. No one does tap the door too anymore. Definitely not Sitamma.

She can now trade her lies with someone else in Indiranagar, Jayanagar, Gandhinagar or Sadashivnagar! Please leave me alone.

I feel like a kid who dreams of his vacation after annual exams. Now, that’s what I call relief! I am holidaying in my three-bedroom flat, welcoming the breeze and shooing away the dust happily, all by myself…albeit once a week!

Feedback to raj.rangarajan@gmail.com

Dance-Drama (Central Park, New York city)

Ramayana in New York
BY RAJ S. RANGARAJAN *



L to R) Regina Ress, Diane Wolkstein, Tamara (from PS 242), and Raouf Mama at CelebrateStory 2007.
Photo courtesy of & ©2007 Philip David Morgan / Cloudstone Productions.





Summer and stories always go together. Whether it is Canada, U.S.A., India or Australia, there is something special about summer. Imaginations run wild and children tend to become creative and sometimes get into raptures in the heat. Adults spin yarns and create magic for the young listeners.

India and Indians in Canada have had a long storytelling tradition with the generic grandma constantly regaling young minds with humour, exaggeration, suspense and adventure, incredibly-talented fairies, winged animals and huge aircraft – all for passing time on a lazy evening.

For more than 50 years – on Saturdays – during the summer, New York City’s children and adults have assembled around Hans Christian Andersen’s statue in Central Park to hear tales told by well-known storytellers and performers such as Victor Borge, Eva LaGallienne and Diane Wolkstein. Hans Christian Andersen was known for his fairy tales and his statue is a well-known Central Park landmark.

This year – the 51st anniversary – it was the turn of Indian performer, Anita Ratnam.
Anita narrated her Dance Katha, Tales from India as part of the celebrations to honour a veteran storyteller of 40 years, Diane Wolkstein who created CelebrateStory: storytelling as entertainment. Anita enacted scenes from the epic Ramayana that were based on “Neo Bharatam” that she created ten years ago as an artistic archetype.

Anita says, she was inspired to create Neo Bharatam after seeing the 1999 science fiction (sci-fi) movie Matrix where Thomas Anderson, played by Keanu Reeves, has the alias ‘Neo.’ In Anita’s case, the search was “to find an original way to protect my work, interpret new nuances, rhythms and moves that defined my style and creativity.”

CelebrateStory is actually a special “thank you” to the City of New York and to the caretakers of Central Park for nourishing not only Diane's Wolkstein’s career but also that of so many other storytellers from New York and elsewhere. Many of the festival tellers – Laura Simms, Regina Ress, Ron Sopyla, Therese Folkes-Plair, Gioia Timpanelli, and Bill Gordh are in fact long-time residents of the New York metropolitan area. This year, special guests included Raouf Mama (from Benin in West Africa), Michael Parent (of Portland, Maine), Dovie Thomason, a Native Indian (of Lakota and Plains Apache heritage) and India’s Anita Ratnam.

Known for her versatile prowess in Bharata Natyam and other dance forms, Anita translated her love of mythology into a new genre of “dancing stories” for an urban audience and “conveyed the stories of her soil in English.”

On her 40th anniversary of performing at Central Park Diane Wolkstein, also was in action. She inaugurated the day with a small sampler of the stories told through her career, including Andersen’s comic tale of “Hans Clodhopper,” followed by “The Glass Mountain” (her retelling of the Brothers Grimm's “Old Rinkrank”), and others.

Diane’s webmaster in New York, Philip David Morgan says, “Diane’s kind of storytelling involves the audience directly, whether by asking listeners what they think might happen next (and why), by inviting them to join in the refrain of a song that may be part of the story, or by making the audience part of the story.

Anita opened with “an invocation of Ganesha, the god of all beginnings, how Ganesha got his head (demonstrated with a cut-out of an elephant’s head) and then I moved on to the Rama story; starting with Vishwamitra, the wise priest counseling his wards Rama and Lakshmana, how the prince was banished to the forest and how his adversary Ravana cut off his sister Soorpanakha’s nose (tall Amazonian-looking woman), of Lakshman-rekha and Hanuman, the monkey god who enlisted help from his friends to locate Sita.”

Anita interspersed the English narration with slokas in Sanskrit and Tamil and with “dance movements and expressive articulation, I could capture the essence of the 40-minute presentation. I tried to make the overall effect prismatic and multicultural, being New York.” In a final act of audience participation, Anita handed over “jalra” sets (two-finger cymbals used for rhythmic accompaniment) to the kids urging them to join in a procession towards the lake.
On a salubrious Sunday afternoon in Central Park with distractions such as cyclists, boat enthusiasts and picnickers vying for attention, the writer inquired, “how did you manage to get the attention of the audience?”

Anita’s response: “It was a wonderful feeling narrating the story with adults and children listening intently; there was a certain silent ambience. Since I had thought out the dress and accompaniments earlier, had rehearsed and practiced voice modulation for the open air event distractions didn’t bother me.”

For a predominantly New York audience not familiar with the epic, to a question, “what kind of allegoric metaphor did you create?” Anita said, “the Neo Bharatam-based moves in a free-flowing style blended with sound, dance and pithy explanations helped me communicate. I now have the space and luxury of innovating as a kind of optic idiom.” Through choreographic motifs of her Neo Bharatam, Anita is known to raise the bar, so to speak, with a dance repertoire that crosses national boundaries.

Complimenting both the beautiful weather and a great turnout, Morgan said of the evening: “...it was simply a large, lavish banquet of story that no one could take in all at once. The most you could do was hear and see all you could, and go home grateful for that.” On Anita’s performance, the webmaster added, despite having to dance on concrete and marble in the New York summertime heat, she held the audience rapt throughout.”


____________

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel, lifestyles, Indian cinema and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto and India. He can be reached at raj.rangarajan@gmail.com]

Contemporary Asian/Indian Sales Underscore Market Momentu

Vol. XXXII, No. 22                                                                                                                       by Raj S. Rangarajan

NEW YORK—The continuing momentum of the market for contemporary Asian and Indian art was underscored by sales at Christie’s in London and Hong Kong last month. Christie’s London sale of modern and contemporary Indian art on May 21 realized £4.5 million ($8.8 million).

In Hong Kong a week later, sales of Asian contemporary art and modern and contemporarySoutheast Asian art—part of a larger series of Asian art sales that included jewelry andclassical Chinese paintings—fetched HK$325.6 million ($42.3 million). Several prominent Indian artists and three young contemporary artists—Subodh Gupta, Justin Ponmany andTalha Rathore—achieved record prices in the U.K. sale. In Hong Kong, auction records were set for ten Indian artists and one Pakistani artist.

In London the top lot was La Terre, 1985, by Indian artist Syed Haider Raza, which sold for £720,000 ($1.42 million) to an Indian private buyer (estimate: £400,000/600,000). Next came the painting Untitled, 1968, by abstractionist Vasudeo S. Gaitonde (1924-2001), which was acquired by an Indian private buyer for £490,400, or $967,559 (estimate: £450,000/550,000). Indian artist Maqbool Fida Husain, who was at the auction, saw his Untitled, circa 1960, sell for £132,000, or $260,436 (estimate: £100,000/150,000).

“The auction was packed and buzzing with numerous private and trade clients, some traveling from India for the sale,” reports Yamini Mehta, director of modern and contemporary Indian art at Christie’s.

Atul Dodiya Record at Hong Kong Auction

At the spring sale of Asian contemporary art in Hong Kong on May 27, a selection of 25 Indian and Pakistani works totaled $1.03 million. Says Mehta: “The sale reaffirms the vibrancy of the Indian contemporary art market, with new collectors bidding robustly across the globe, vying for top-quality works.” She notes that “the sale appeals to the international audience, as witnessed by record sales by Indian artists Atul Dodiya, T.V. Santhosh, and Jiten Thukral andSumir Tagra.”

After spirited bidding Vishal, a 1989 oil on canvas by Dodiya, fetched HK$3.1 million ($405,600) from a private Indian buyer; and Santhosh’s Hundred Square Feet of Curses,2005, earned HK$780,000 ($101,400) from a private Taiwanese buyer. Somnium Genero—Aeris 05, by Thukral and Tagra, 2006, took $85,800 from a French private buyer.

Among other records set: Portrait of the Artist and His Friends, 1991, by Chinese artist Yue Minjun (b. 1962), sold for HK$20.5 million ($2.66 million) to a private Asian buyer; Mask Series 1996 No. 8, by Zeng Fanzhi, fell for HK$12.6 million, or $1.64 million (estimate: HK$1/1.5 million)—another auction record; And Blue Sea, 1998, by Liu Ye (b. 1964), set a record when it garnered HK$7.9 million ($1.03 million).

The modern and contemporary Southeast Asian art sale also set two auction records: Women Around the Lotus Pond, 1950-51, by Belgian artist Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès,brought HK$17.1 million ($2.22 million); and Street Musician, by Indonesian artist Hendra Gunawan (1918-1983), sold for HK$3.6 million ($468,000).

Ruoh-Ling Keong, vice president and head of the Southeast Asian pictures department at Christie’s Hong Kong, says the sale saw “vibrant and enthusiastic bidding . . . indicating a coming of age for contemporary Southeast Asian art. The robust results signify a continued rise in interest, with an unprecedented level of appreciation from collectors worldwide.”

"On demand: Krrish"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 08, 2007


Hindi films on American TV

RAJ S. RANGARAJAN

Fans of Hindi cinema in the U.S. can now watch their favourite films in the comfort of their living rooms.

Bollywood buffs in the U.S. can now watch Hindi films on American TV, thanks to Cox Cable of America and Time Warner Inc. Of the 14 foreign language films that grossed over $ 2 million at the U.S. box office in the past year, seven were Hindi. I ndustry watchers in the U.S. and India are profoundly interested in the courtship. A sample: ‘A Mighty Heart’ with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie has been produced in India and will be released in U.S. on June 22, Johnny Depp and Amitabh Bachchan are in Mira Nair’s ‘Shantaram,’ Wes Anderson is in ‘The Darjeeling Limited’ and African-American actor Will Smith and George Clooney are reportedly interested in forthcoming productions.

New category

Now, BODVOD and Cox Communications in San Diego and Orange County have launched a new ‘Bollywood’ category on Cox’s ‘On Demand’ channel line-up. Cox’s digital cable subscribers will be able to order the latest Bollywood hit films whenever they want, using their Cox remote controls.

Not to be outdone, Time Warner Cable’s digital customers in states such as New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, North Carolina and Ohio can search for movie titles by surfing ‘On Demand Channel 1,’ selecting the ‘Movies’ folder, then the ‘By Category’ sub-folder and the ‘International.’

Each title may be viewed at any time for U.S. $3.95 with unlimited access within 24 hours. Viewers can pause, fast-forward or rewind. These media companies see growth potential in Indian cinema in the U.S. as well.

Through Channel 1, customers can access ‘Movies on Demand,’ they can click on ‘Foreign Films,’ and then ‘Bollywood.’ One of the highest-grossing films in India last year, the Adlabs’ sci-fi action thriller ‘Krrish,’ has also made its premiere on Cox’s ‘On Demand.’

Shah Rukh Khan’s action film ‘Don,’ the New York-set comedy ‘Jaan-e-Maan,’ and the Moghul-era romance ‘Umrao Jaan’ starring Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan will be available later this year.

When asked why they are promoting Bollywood and South Asian content now, Suzanne Giuliani of Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey, says, “We started working with BODVOD during a Deepavali celebration about four years ago.”

Roger Keating, executive vice-president, Time Warner Cable, approved 1.9 million customers’ (in Southern California) access to Bollywood and South Asian movies and created a separate international category to showcase films from around the world.

A perfect strategy

In response to a question, Vin Bhat, head of BODVOD Networks, says, “Currently our distribution focuses on 11 million digital cable homes and we are in conversation with operators who will deliver Bollywood movies to hotels and motels in America. We acquire, package, and distribute Bollywood and other South Asian films, TV shows and music on ‘On-Demand’ media platforms.”

Calling this “ …a perfect strategic fit between Time Warner Cable and IFFLA,” Anjali Jindal, head of programming for the BODVOD network, says, “In addition to content, we focus on developing innovative, mutually beneficial partnerships for the viewing community.”

Contemporary Art Soars at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Sales

Vol. XXXII, No. 18                                                                                                          by Raj S. Rangarajan

NEW YORK—Sotheby’s Hong Kong registered $135.33 million in Hong Kong during a four-day series of sales from April 7-10 that included Chinese works of art ($58.17 million),contemporary Chinese art ($27.63 million), fine Chinese paintings ($15.21 million), watches($2.96 million) and jewels and jadeite ($31.34 million).

Henry Howard-Sneyd, deputy chairman of Europe and Asia and managing director of Sotheby’s Asia, reports that “sales have tripled during the last five years of spectacular growth at Sotheby’s Hong Kong with the emergence of collectors from the People’s Republic of China and a global spread of collecting across all categories.”

Soaring prices for contemporary Chinese art continued to dominate the sales. The highlight of the $27.63 million auction of Chinese contemporary art on April 7 was Put Down Your Whip,an oil on canvas by Xu Beihong (1895-1953), estimated at about $3.8 million, which flew to $9.28 million, a record for any Chinese painting at auction as well as an artist’s record. The large oil had been completed in 1939 during Xu’s stay in Singapore. Patti Wong, chairman ofSotheby’s Asia, observed that the market “remains very strong at the top end, with new buyers also entering each season.”

An auction record was set for Liu Ye, when Sinking Ship, 1995, sold for $907,000 (estimate: $258,000/387,000) to a European collector. Other records were set for the works 22.11.2004,by Michael Lin (Lin Minghong), and Tormenting Love, by Hou Junming.

Six bidders pursued Zhang Xiaogang’s Tiananmen No. 1, 1993, before it fell to an Asian private collector on the phone for $1.99 million (estimate: $644,000/902,000).

New Buyers Pay Top Prices

Comments Evelyn Lin, head of the contemporary Chinese art department and deputy director, Asia: “The sale demonstrated the increasing strength in the market for Chinese contemporary art. There were new buyers from Asia and Europe, and collectors were willing to pay premium prices for seminal works.”

At recent Asian contemporary auctions, however, many of the top prices have been paid for works that are just a few years old. For instance, at the Sotheby’s auction, some recent works by Zhang Xiaogang fetched strong prices, including Big Family Series, 2006, which made $757,405 (estimate: $640,000/896,000); and Little Graduate (From My Dream), 2005, which took $685,800 (estimate: $320,000/448,000).

A four-panel oil on canvas by Zhu Dequn (b. 1920), Force d’âme, 2004-05, realized $1 million (estimate: $896,000/1.9 million). A much earlier work by the artist, Composition No. 268, 1967-68, sold for $900,700 (estimate: $768,000/1 million).

Three sales were devoted to Chinese works of art. They included Chinese art from the collection of an anonymous Parisian connoisseur ($16.53 million); historical works of art from the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Qianlong reign, from 1736-95 ($12.57 million); and Chinese ceramics and works of art ($29.07 million). The buyer breakdown for the three Chinese works of art sales: Asian, 78.2%; American, 20.2%; and European, 1.6%.

Nicholas Chow, Sotheby’s head of Chinese ceramics and works of art, said the pieces in the Parisian connoisseur sale included “remarkable Chinese porcelain—largely Imperial—which had been out of China for a long time. The market responded to this fresh material with enthusiasm by repatriating many works back into Chinese hands.”

A rare, decorated faceted Famille-rose vase, bearing the seal mark of the Qing dynasty,Yongzheng period (1723-35), was acquired by Hong Kong dealer Chak’s Company Ltd. for $2.92 million, several times the high estimate of $1 million. The Seven Jade Imperial Archer’s Rings, along with its original fitted cinnabar box and cover, also of the Qing dynasty, fetched $6.1 million.

Highlighting the sale of ceramics was a rare Falangcai enamel miniature vase, mark and period of Qianlong, which was acquired by an Asian private buyer for $4.37 million, well above the high estimate of $1.5 million.

In the Chinese paintings category, Li Keran’s Waterfall in Tiers 1987, was acquired by a private Asian buyer for $1.08 million (estimate: $231,000/319,000) to the applause of the crowd.

Cleveland Museum Acquires $4M Sculpture of India

Vol. XXXII, No. 17                                                                                                                     Raj S. Rangarajan

NEW YORK—The Cleveland Museum of Art was the buyer of a $4.07 million granite sculpture, Shiva as Brahma, that was auctioned at Sotheby’s sale of Indian and southeast Asian art in New York last month (ANL, 4/3/07).

The life-size representation, which hails from southern India, Chola dynasty (late-10th/early-11th century), was the top lot in the sale of works from the Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y.

“With any acquisition,” Timothy Rub, director and CEO of the Cleveland Museum of Art, toldARTnewsletter, “one has to be opportunistic—and the moment it came on the market, we were keen on acquiring this Shiva.” Asked if there was a preset auction limit, Rub says, “We were prepared to bid even higher than the final price.” The museum was represented at the auction by London dealer John Eskenazi.

The statue, which represents one of the supreme deities of the Hindu pantheon of gods, “adds to our existing collection of the trinity that shows manifestations of (Lord) Vishnu,” says Rub. “This trinity consists of Sridevi, Bhudevi and Vishnu, and we are particularly pleased since this Shaivaite icon beautifully balances our collection.” Rub notes that the museum hopes to place the statue on display this summer.

Contemporary Art Resonates at $129M Asian Sales

Vol. XXXII, No. 16                                                                                                            by Raj S. Rangarajan

NEW YORK—Sales of Asian art in New York, from March 19-23, realized $89.76 million atSotheby’s and $39.56 million at Christie’s, for a total of $129.3 million—compared with $51.6 million and $46.2 million, respectively, a year ago (ANL, 4/25/06), totaling $97.8 million. Among the lots: fine Chinese ceramics and works of art, and contemporary Asian, Indianand southeast Asian art—a category that included modern paintings and miniatures. Contemporary Asian art continues to be a major force behind the growth of sales in recent seasons.

Hailing the auctions as a landmark week for Sotheby’s, Henry Howard-Sneyd, deputy chairman, Europe and Asia, noted, “We saw strength across all categories, with modern and contemporary markets—both Chinese and Indian—having begun to mature and now in periods of steady growth.” Howard-Sneyd further pointed out that Sotheby’s sale totals successively have hit new records each season since 2004.

The sale of Chinese ceramics and works of art (including property of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y.) fetched $35.29 million at Sotheby’s, more than double the $15.7 million made a year-ago March. British dealer Roger Keverne bought a rare archaic bronze wine vessel and cover (Fangjia), late Shang dynasty (13th-11th century B.C.), for $8.1 million (estimate: $2/3 million), on behalf of Compton Verney, a museum outside Stratford-upon-Avon, England. The price was a record for Chinese art at Sotheby’s.

Second in the top ten was a rare, massive limestone chimera, bought by an Asian private buyer after intense competition among at least six bidders, for $5.47 million (estimate: $1.5/2.5 million), setting a record for a Chinese stone sculpture. Another major sale was a rare, limestone seated figure of a “pensive” Maitreya, Northern Wei dynasty (early 6th century), acquired by Eskenazi Ltd., London, for $1.36 million (estimate: $300,000/500,000).

Said Joe-Hynn Yang, who heads Sotheby’s Chinese artworks department: The market “responded selectively, but with feverish and often vocal bidding, for the diverse works on offer.”

Records Set for Chinese Artists

Sotheby’s second sale of “Contemporary Art Asia”—including Chinese, Japanese andKorean art—earned $25.35 million, flying past last year’s total of $13.22 million. Several records were achieved for works by Chinese artists, including: Yue Minjun’s Goldfish, 1993, which went to an anonymous buyer for $1.38 million (estimate: $500,000/700,000); and Leng Jun’s Five-Pointed Star, 1999, which fell to a Chinese collector for $1.22 million (estimate: $350,000/450,000).

Of the top ten in this category, works by Chinese artist Zhang Xiaogang, one of China’s topfigurative painters (ANL, 4/25/06, pp. 2-3), accounted for five. His Bloodline: Three Comrades,1994, was won by a European collector for $2.11 million (estimate: $1.5/2 million).

Noting “the highest total to date for a dedicated sale of contemporary Asian art,” Xiaoming Zhang, a specialist in Sotheby’s Chinese contemporary art department in New York, said the market “has reached a state of steady growth, and great works are achieving great prices. We have witnessed two major strengths in this sale: demand for post-1989 works, particularly for the early, rare and historically important—and for works of Chinese realism, which have proven desirable to both Western and Chinese collectors.”

Some art experts, though, are wary of the soaring prices for these works. In an interview with the London Telegraph last month, Simon Groom, director of exhibitions at the Tate Gallery Liverpool, suggested that the market may have produced “China fatigue” by spurring artists to produce works that satisfy market demands instead of turning out “genuinely good, creatively interesting art.”

Conspicuously absent from an exhibition on “The Real Thing: Contemporary Art from China” that opened at Tate Liverpool March 30 and runs through June 10, were works by Zhang Xiaogang and Yue Minjun. The show’s cocurator Karen Smith told the Telegraph, “We selected artists whose agenda has not been tainted by commercial incentives.”

Art of India Fetches $15M

Sotheby’s sale of Indian art (including miniatures and modern paintings) totaled $15 million, with Indian artist Tyeb Mehta’s Untitled, 1987, selling to an Asian collector for $1.16 million (estimate: $800,000/1 million). Rameshwar Broota’s painting Captives, 1989, took $779,200 (estimate: $350,000/450,000) from an unidentified buyer.

Zara Porter Hill, head of Sotheby’s Indian art department, reports that “the high percentages sold by lot (87.6 percent) and by value (94.4 percent) indicate a solid and maturing market, with an increasingly discerning collector base focusing on quality works by senior artists.” She notes “the presence of many new collectors, including new European and American clients successfully competing for high-value works of art.” Nine of the top ten lots were sold, for the most part at prices generously above the high estimates.

Sales of Indian and southeast Asian works of art, including Buddhas and other representational figures, totaled $8.97 million. London gallery John Eskenazi Ltd. acquired the top lot from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery—a Shiva as Brahma, in granite, southern India,Chola period (tenth century)—for $4.07 million (estimate: $3/4 million), on behalf of a private collector.

An American dealer bought the head of a Bodhisattva, schist, ancient region of Gandhara,Kushan period (second century) for $600,000 (estimate: $250,000/350,000). A female torso,sandstone, Khmer, Baphuon style (11th century), made $504,000, more than five times the high estimate of $90,000.

Choson Jar Takes $1.27M at Christie’s

At the Christie’s auction of Japanese and Korean art, a Choson period (18th century) full-moon jar realized $1.27 million, setting a record for white porcelain from that period. Korean artist Lee Daiwon’s work—Columbia Road (Washington, D.C.), I, 1959, sold for $102,000, more than eight times the high estimate of $12,000, setting a record for the artist.

Sales of modern and contemporary Indian art totaled $8.59 million. In the lead was Vasudeo S. Gaitonde’s abstract Untitled, 1968, from the collection of Mme. Krishna Riboud, which was acquired by a U.S. buyer for $768,000 (estimate: $500,000/700,000). Others who figured among the top ten were Progressive movement artists Syed Haider Raza, whose Untitled,1982, earned $480,000 (estimate: $250/350,000); and Francis Newton Souza, whose Untitled, Black Nude, 1965, brought $420,000 (estimate: $350,000/500,000).

Says Yamini Mehta, head of Christie’s modern and contemporary Indian art department: “The sale reflected the continued strength and breadth of this collecting field, with Indian artistsRavinder Reddy, Atul and Anju Dodiya, Sudarshan Shetty and Chitra Ganesh performing strongly.”

Sales of Indian and southeast Asian art at Christie’s totaled $7.47 million (87 percent by value, 70 percent by lot). A large bronze of Parvati (south India, Vijayanagar period, 1400) set a world auction record for an Indian work of art when it fetched $2.72 million (estimate: $400,000/600,000) from a European trade buyer. And a large, 12th-century gilt bronze of Buddha Akshobya, Tibet, was picked up by an Asian private buyer for $712,000 (estimate: $350/500,000).

Hugo Weihe, Christie’s international director of Asian art, reports that “many of the star lots performed significantly above their presale estimates, reflecting an informed market willing to honor quality and provenance.”