Art of signing

Signatures are not mere your representation. It is also an art. At least this was what the bureaucrats of the state and the educationists of the state would have conveyed while inaugurating the Chitra Santhe, the annual ‘Big Bazaar’ of art work at Chitrakala Parishath at Kumara Krupa Road on Sunday.

Principal Secretary of Kannada and Culture I M Vittalamurthy, DG and IGP Dr K R Srinivasan and former vice chancellor of Visvesvaraya Technological University Dr K Balaveera Reddy were guests during the inaugural ceremony of Chitrasanthe. Soon after the formal inauguration, the guests were asked to sketch a few lines on a board to have ‘artistic beginning’ to the programme.

Dr K R Srinivasan chose to put his signature on the board instead of any art work. Mr Vittal Murthy followed the same. Even Mr Balaveera Reddy did not think of any sketch than his signature. “Are they acknowledging their presence by putting their signature or giving an artistic beginning to the programme?” asked an art-lover present on the occasion.

Organisers had no option but to request the guests once again to draw a few lines. Dr Srinivasan had to draw lines resembling face of a boy. With that the art market (chitra santhe) was inaugurated.
 - Satish Shile

Poor shutterbugs!

Union Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee was in city to take part in two programmes held at one venue on the outskirts of city recently. So a pick-up was organised to ferry journalists early in the morning. But photojournalists (very few) were easily out-numbered by the private photographers at the venue.

At both the programmes constant abuses from the audience as well as the organisers made photojournalists to leave the venue in a huff, least to say the police mannerisms towards these hapless shutterbugs who went all the way to cover the events.

To add insult to injury, the minister himself got up and ordered the photographers (in Bengalee, thankfully) to take pictures without disturbing the audience!

But Minister addressed not the photojournalists, but around thirty odd Bengalis who with their aim-to shoot cameras and handycams were actual hindrance to the otherwise badly organised programme.
Anantha Subramanyam K

Witty cops

Following the enforcement beat can sometimes be a hilarious experience. Take for instance, the New Year’ eve drill. The senior police officers, quite a few of who are already on leave, leaving the battle ground to be won by foot soldiers, the constabulary, say that this year there will be more revellers on the streets. “More and more young people are getting initiated into drinking habit because of lack of parental pressure,” one officer said. “And where are the parents?” One asked. “In the clubs,” pat came the reply from another officer.

“How will you monitor drunken driving?” was the next question. “If there are two people who have come out for the party, one should be sober and he or she should drive. The drunkard can be spared,” replied the officer. Who says Bangalore police lack wit?
-Bala Chauhan