By IANS,

Bangalore: Noted Kannada theatre personality B. Jayashree, the newly nominated Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, says she will raise in parliament the concerns of Indian theatre and the problems faced by women in the performing arts field.

"I am very extremely happy at this recognition. I think my responsibilities have increased. I think this recognition is not just for me but for the achievements of Kannada theatre and also for the state of Karnataka. I will work with responsibility to find solutions to many problems facing Indian theatre as a whole," Jayashree told IANS

By IANS,

Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was presented the Global Entertainment and Media Personality award at the FICCI Frames 2010 Excellence Awards here Thursday.

"Thank you so much to FICCI for bestowing this award on me, and the job that you guys are doing is absolutely outstanding," said Shah Rukh after receiving the award.

The Global Icon of the Year award was presented to Oscar winning music director A.R. Rehman.

"Thank you FICCI for this honour," the director said.

By IANS,

London : A portrait painted by Picasso when he was 22 is to be auctioned with an estimated price of 40 million pounds.

The painting is owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Art Foundation. The portrait is of the artist's friend Angel Fernandez de Soto and has the highest pre-auction valuation for a painting sold in Europe, Daily Express reported Thursday.

The work, also called "The Absinthe Drinker", was expected to fetch up to 38 million pounds in 2006, but the auction was blocked at the last minute. The controversy over the 1903 work was resolved in January this year.

By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and for over fourteen hundred years a journey of a lifetime for millions of Muslims living in different corners of the world. These hajis returned to their homelands to tell a tale of physical and spiritual journey of extraordinary proportions. Hajj is obligatory for every Muslim man and woman who are able to undertake this journey. A large number of Muslim women from India made this pious trip but one of the first to write an account of her hajj journey was Nawab Sikandar Begum of Bhopal.

By Subhash K. Jha, IANS,

Mumbai: He wasn't nominated for the Oscars this time, but Academy Award winner Resul Pookutty struck a deal for his second major international film after "Slumdog Millionnaire" and met one of his idols, Quentin Tarantino, while he was in the US to attended the awards ceremony.

By IANS,

Astana : "Kalpana", an exhibition comprising the works of 14 renowned Indian artists, has opened at a glittering ceremony in Shymkent, the capital of South Kazakhstan at the newly constructed and prestigious art gallery.

Speaking at the inauguration Thursday, Indian Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar noted that the exhibition has been brought to Shymkent after it was held successfully in Astana for three weeks because of the strong and dynamic relations that India has always enjoyed with this region of Central Asia.

By Azera Rahman, IANS,

New Delhi : The colour palette is vibrant, modern. But look closely and the images of the 2010 Commonwealth Games for hoardings across Delhi, including sporting venues, will reveal traditional Indian art forms deftly woven into them.

For one, the pictograms of the Oct 3-14 Games have been inspired by the traditional Sanjhi art of Uttar Pradesh.

By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,

New Delhi : Thirty-three rare paintings, all classical 19th and 20th century Russian winter landscapes by leading artists, have stepped out of the Russian Museum at St.Petersburg for the first time in the archive's 115-year-old history for a show in the Indian capital.

Coinciding with the visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, "Russian Winter" will be thrown open Friday at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture (RCSC).

By Shilpa Raina, IANS,

Mumbai: Malini Ramani took the audience on a martini trip as the designer churned out a collection for liquor brand Grey Goose at the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week here Sunday.

This Vodka brand is one of the associate partners of the five-day fashion week and Delhi-based Ramani took inspiration from the colours and patterns of Mexico and Africa to bring out the summer/resort line.

By IANS,

New Delhi : Nearly a dozen whirling dervishes of the mystic Sufi cult set the stage at the Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts (IGNCA) on fire with their high-energy religious folk dance and music in the capital Saturday evening.

The dancers of Egypt's famous Al Tanourra ensemble performed the Al Darawish dance - circular movement of bodies that reaches a crescendo.

The dancers dressed in flared skirts fanned out across the stage. A musician chanted verses in praise of the prophet (Mohammed) to the notes of indigenous instruments like drums, flute and tambourine.