Between lines and shades of Black & White

There are some amongst us who cherish memories of how life was when photography, motion pictures and TV shows were completely in black & white. Devoid of all colour and glitter, the black & white movies of Madhu Bala and Clark Gable of those yesteryears, still retain their vivid charm which none of modern digitally edited technicolour movies can reproduce.

Here is an opportunity for Mysoreans to see Indian Ink sketches made by a team of six students of Sri Kalanikethana School of Arts, No. CA - 15, Vijayanagar 2nd Stage.

The artists who are pursuing their Bachelors degree in Visual Arts (BVA) — K.K. Somanna and Abhilash D. Dinkashettahalli (Final Year); V.E. Akshay Kumar (II Year); B.N. Rajendra, S. Manohar and G.S. Ravikumar (BVA Foundation) — are displaying their collective works of sketches at Kalanikethana Art Gallery.

Each of the 20 free hand drawings that are put on display is based on a theme, conveying a specific message to the viewer with the titles aptly describing the drawing. "We have sketched our drawings in black & white using only Indian ink. As these days we get to see mostly colour paintings, we decided that our line drawings should be without any colour," say the team members and add, "We have created these line drawings choosing topics from current issues like harassment meted out to farmers, waning popularity of folk arts, nature being destroyed by humans, kids learning unhealthy habits, delicate relationship between nature and humans etc."

Their goal is to continue drawing this way and create awareness in the society through their drawings.

The stall showcasing their collective paintings has bagged the Best Stall Award in Dasara Exhibition. They have also exhibited their drawings in Hubli, sponsored by the Lalithakala Academy, Bangalore. The exhibition is open from 10.30 am to 6 pm till Jan. 17.

...and she travels miles for a wrestling bout

This 18-year-old lass is very enthusiastic, committed and hard-working. M.R. Ramya, a promising wrestler, hailing from Melapura in Srirangapatna taluk, Mandya district, has already created history by winning the first ever bronze medal in the All India Inter-University Women's Wrestling Competition held at Jaipur recently, representing the Mysore University.

She has hogged the limelight by winning several events held both in the State and National-level Dasara Wrestling Competitions. She has won the first ever medal in the 63 kg category in the All India Inter-Varsity Wrestling Competition held at Jaipur in October 2010 organised by Rajasthan University. Mysore University had not won any medal in wrestling competitions, including men, since 1986.

Ramya, who started learning wrestling four years ago, is very dedicated to her passion. Earlier, while studying in PU, she had represented Karnataka and won a bronze medal. She has also been a part of the Junior Karnataka team (U-20), thanks to the unstinted support from her father M. Ravikumar and mother Kousalya. Star of Mysore spoke to this upcoming wrestler Ramya recently. Excerpts:

"Geetha Kumar who won the first gold medal for India in women's wrestling event in the Commonwealth Games-2010 is my role model. In the coming days, I want to represent my country in this sport and bring laurels. I have the support of my coach L. Manjappa," says Ramya.



Ramya practices for four hours daily — two hours in the morning for fitness and two in the evening — at the Lions Hall, adjacent to Oval Grounds.

"My dream is to win a gold medal in Olympics," says a confident Ramya, who aspires to study MBA and also desires of becoming a Police Inspector as well as a wrestling coach.

"Most parents hesitate to send their daughters for this sport as they think it's only for men. But my earnest request to them is to send their daughters for wrestling as it is just like any other sport," says Ramya.

"Wrestling builds one's confidence. The technique of interlocking the arms, using the torso and legs to twist and turn the opponent's body and make one fall is indeed difficult for a woman which requires stamina. It needs strength to hold an opponent as she is pinned to the ground. Ramya is a promising wrestler with a bright future," says her coach Manjappa, who also happens to be an SAI coach and a coach for Mysore University too.

Presently, Ramya is doing her II year B.Com in Banumaiah's College. She travels 22 kms (13.67 miles) from her house daily but never misses her practice. This shows her dedication towards the sport which is certain to take her to greater heights and win bouts in the ring.