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A VILLAGE OF ONE: Song Cycle With Soul.

American musician, composer and director Paula Jeanine Bennett brings an evening of her folk opera for all folk, “A Village Of One” (AVOO) to Lamakaan. AVOO is a music and theater piece that has traveled to Indonesia, Morocco and recently Bhubaneswar, Odisha, at the Kalanirvana Art Center. It is work that addresses the loneliness of the modern soul backlit by village sensibilities and illuminated by catchy songs – and solar lighting! For this presentation, Paula will talk about her recent experiences adapting the piece in India and share her compositions.
The audience will be invited to raise their voices too

About Artist: Paula Jeanine Bennett, born in Cleveland, Ohio, the heartland of the USA, is a vocalist, percussionist, composer, lyricist and cultural arts activist. Her long and luminous association with Indian music began in 2001 when she was invited to participate in the elite Jazz India Vocal Institute program in Mumbai. She has returned to India many times and participated in a variety of festivals and concerts, most notably at the NCPA, the Kala Ghoda Festival and the Capital Jazz Festival. Paula has adapted numerous ghazals and thumris and was presented by the American Center in a 5-city tour of Western India performing this material in collaboration with local ensembles. She has also composed new material reflecting her deep love for the pure voice exemplified in North Indian classical traditions as evinced on her release on India’s Mystica Music, “Melody Sky” (with guitarist Lee Boice). She lives on the Brooklyn waterfront and can see the Statue of Liberty from her rooftop.

Protest Poetry – open mic with Sabika Abbas We live in an age where voices of dissent are curbed because they question those in power. There is a lack of any effective tool to articulate an effective challenge. In a world where the media and the social media are controlled by vested interests, where safe spaces are increasingly decreasing, we have turned to poetry. Because poetry, like political language is rarely spoken without intention. As Audre Lorde puts it, “Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action. Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought. The farthest horizons of our hopes and fears are cobbled by our poems, carved from the rock experiences of our daily lives.” What makes poetry so powerful as a tool of protest? as a weapon we can use to challenge the malicious powers that have risen to prominence in this age? Because poetry is far more than syntax and grammar– the terms and measurements that help us identify and discuss language. It is more than copy on a page. It is rhythm; it is sensations; it is incantation. And, through this, poetry becomes meaning. It becomes truth. We at lamakaan are happy to invite you come and participate in a poet led revolution. A revolution towards a more equal, trusting and loving society. Along with Sabika Abbas Naqvi, who is a protest poet and has performed at numerous occasions and more importantly, at numerous street corners, we invite you to write your own protest poems and read them to an audience on the 9th of February.

On this Sunday morning through afternoon come and explore wide range of Organic Fruits, veggies & groceries Homemade Breads and other baked goods; Organic Lunch, Handicrafts and Handlooms, Handmade Jewelry, Terrace Gardening Corner, Creative Design Spaces. Every Sunday 10:30am – 1.30pm For details: 9642731329. Entry Free. All are Welcome.

In light of the latest developments of the Triple Talaq Bill, society is in dire need of a conversation questioning the criminlisation of Triple Talaq. Jameelaji will be giving us an understanding of the implication of a possible ordinance in Hyderabad, and Hasinaji will be talking about the national perspective, and its role in the women’s movement.

Lamakaan invites one and all to join this discussion, as two fierce feminists will answer our questions and deliberate on the way forward.

On this Sunday morning through afternoon come and explore wide range of Organic Fruits, veggies & groceries Homemade Breads and other baked goods; Organic Lunch, Handicrafts and Handlooms, Handmade Jewelry, Terrace Gardening Corner, Creative Design Spaces. Every Sunday 10:30am – 1.30pm For details: 9642731329. Entry Free. All are Welcome.

Telangana Elections: What Happened and What Did Not?

In the recently concluded Telangana elections, while mainstream media was unmindful of the contest and electoral debacle of a large number of candidates from the marginalized communities, it was also caught unawares by the thumping majority of the ruling TRS party. As soon as the Telangana Assembly elections were announced, many political pundits from the two Telugu states and outside, predicted the success of some candidates from the marginalized communities who had given voice to the victims of KCR’s rule in Telangana. They also predicted the electoral debacle of the ruling TRS party under the leadership of KCR and his family members. Contrary to these predictions, the voices of the people of  Telangana were defeated in the electoral battle-field while the TRS won the elections with a thumping majority.  How did the TRS win? What has been its electoral strategies in the game of electioneering? Why did candidates from the marginalized take to the ballot battle in the first place and why did they miserably fail?

Come and hear What Happened and What Did Not Happen in the Telangana elections from the electoral contestants themselves at Lamakaan on 05 Jan.  Speakers:- Prof. Sujatha Surepally Dr. Jilukara Srinivas Mr Ibram Shekar Dr Emmadi Kiran Mr Goji Dayakar  Mr Chandrasekhar Mr Dunna Ambedkar Ms Komali and  Ms Mercy Margaret and others.

Time: 2-5 PM All are welcome

David Mamet’s “Oleanna” is a powerful two-character drama on various aspects of the student-teacher relationship, revolving around its insecurities, institutional politics, hypocrisies of higher education, student influences and sexual harassment. A power struggle and miscommunication between the professor and his student, who accuses him of sexual harassment. Who is right? And who is wrong? Which side do we take? In the power play of institutional politics, which side will win? The grades that you get, are they more important than your understanding? Is it okay to cross yet another line to get some grades?