The term ‘mockumentary’ was coined to reflect its function of mocking documentaries and came into popular usage in the mid-1980s, after Rob Reiner, the director of This Is Spinal Tap (1984) used it in interviews to describe his film.
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The poster of Orson Welles' mockumentary 'F For Fake'[/caption]
Source: Jason Taellious, via Flickr
The origin of the mockumentary can be traced back to the late 1930s when an adaptation of HG Wells’ novel, The War of the Worlds, narrated by Orson Welles, was aired on America’s CBS radio network in the form of simulated news bulletins. The bulletins suggested that aliens were invading the world. This broadcast can be considered the precursor to the mockumentary, although at that time it was described as ‘cruelly deceptive’ by some newspapers and public figures because it was such a foreign concept. Since then, the genre has flourished across the world, giving rise to many great mockumentaries like Man Bites Dog (1992), This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Zelig (1983), and The Blair Witch Project (1999). Among the more recent additions to the list is What We Do In The Shadows (2014) by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. Some television shows also fall under this genre. American television has produced some great mockumentary shows like The Office, Parks & Recreation, and Modern Family. The humour in these mockumentaries is heavily influenced by social norms, pop culture, as well as politics.You may also like: #Inktober2016: Here’s a Look at 14 Awesome Illustrations by Indian Artists
For a sample of the mockumentary-style of filmmaking, check out the opening of F for Fake. This is how Orson Welles introduces the film: “This is a film about trickery, fraud, about lies. Tell it by the fireside or in a marketplace or in a movie, almost any story is almost certainly some kind of lie. But not this time. This is a promise. For the next hour, everything you hear from us is really true and based on solid fact.” If you are intrigued, we recommend checking out these Indian mockumentaries.
(L-R) Abhineet Agarwal, Akash Saraf & Tushar Somani - Co-Founders of Pulpypapaya[/caption]
Kolhapuri Footwear Artisan[/caption]
Kolhapuri Footwear Line-up[/caption]
Jameel[/caption]
“The books would probably be sold to a raddiwala. Maybe the pages of the books would be used to wrap paan or serve bhelpuri,” jokes Jameel. “And so, I thought why not document the stories. That’s how I started a YouTube channel where I upload a story or two every day. The aim is to save Urdu.” As of now, the YouTube channel has over 600 stories. During this process of documenting the stories, Jameel met with many people from different demographics. “I realized it wasn’t just Urdu that was suffering, almost all Indian languages are on the threshold of being reduced to dialects. It is heart breaking. That’s how Katha Kathan came into being,” says Jameel.
The objective of Katha Kathan is to revive and preserve Indian languages and reintroduce them to the youth
Story narration in progress[/caption]
In order to reach a wider audience, Jameel and his team are adapting short stories written in Bengali, Konkani, Kannada, and Marathi, among other languages. In their previous shows, Katha Kathan presented Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Kabuliwala’ in original Bengali and an adapted Marathi version, and Manto’s ‘Taraqqi Pasand’ in Urdu and Marathi too.
Katha Kathan’s shows have been received with a lot of warmth, says Jameel. “We have witnessed audiences laugh out loud as we narrated ‘Taraqqi Pasand’ and, within minutes, wipe away tears over Tagore’s tragic story ‘Kabuliwala’.” People connect with a live storytelling sessions and, with each show, the initiative gains in popularity.
Katha Kathan will stage its fourth show on November 16 at Sathaye College in Mumbai. The show ‘Kya Sahi? Kya Galat?’ will bring forth four stories by Manto. Two other stories, ‘Shareefan’ and ‘Saadhe Teen Aane’, will be read out by Vasudha Sahasrabuddhe in Marathi. ‘Licence’ and ‘Jee Aaya Saheb’ will be presented in Urdu.
Given the burning issue of currency, the organisers have decided to have free entry for the show. Those who purchased tickets earlier will receive refunds.
Katha Kathan is on 
In her exhibition, Fractal Futures, one notices the way the paintings have height and depth; they are three-dimensional. The paintings depict futuristic architecture and feature intersecting bridges, geometric patterns, which appear like optical illusions. Bhagyashree is of the opinion that beeswax is the most innovative art material for the utopian, geometric and fantastical world that is represented in the paintings.
According to Bhagyashree, by “incising the surface with a variety of tools and making designs by removing or adding any forms of wax,” she is able to experiment fully with some of her pieces that represent “futuristic architecture.” She adds that apart from using beeswax to carve an infinite variety of shapes, she can also add different colours to the material.
When asked where she derives her inspiration for this project from, she says, “Imagining the city of the future has long been a source of fascination for me. I adored Zaha Hadid, the late British architect, and the ductility of almost a melting existence that exists in her architecture. This is where I drew my initial inspiration from – the exquisite yet distinct character of her architecture. Nature has also inspired me with phenomena like Fibonacci (the mathematical relationships in the spiral growth patterns of plants) to create new approaches, as it has an infinity of forms that can be studied by means of regulated geometry.”
It takes her around 20-25 days to produce a single wax painting. She starts by painting the background on the canvas with gouache colours. Then she prepares kite paper by soaking it in water to moisten it. Following this, she pastes the kite paper on the canvas layer-by layer, almost 20 times. She peels off some the layers until she gets the desired affect. Once the layer of kite paper sheets is dry, molten beeswax is poured over the canvas.
It takes two to three months to produce a wax sculpture. First, an iron-mesh armature of the desired shape is covered with plaster of Paris bandages. Once it dries, beeswax is applied over the sculpture and Bhagyashree incises the surface with a variety of tools and makes designs by removing or adding wax.
But Bhagyashree is quick to add that working with beeswax comes with its own set of challenges, “For instance, getting the right consistency is tough as heating it for a long time may burn the wax and result in change of colour. Also, working with beeswax at high temperatures causes bruises and burns, sometimes.”
“I have to explore much more regarding my work in terms of visual techniques. I want to start producing art on a larger scale as I want my viewers to feel that they are also a part of my work. I need to look at different ways of using beeswax in my work and want to build massive structures out of it,” she concludes.
For more information visit the gallery’s Facebook 
Qamar is the only female calligraphy artist to combine Devanagari and Urdu scripts to illustrate beautiful pictorial calligraphy. Mohammad Ghalib is one of the last remaining katibs from Urdu Bazaar near Jama Masjid. He takes immense pride in carrying the baton of this dying skill.
Let’s find ways to save and carry this tradition forward. Visit these calligraphers, collaborate, co-create, and facilitate a contemporary digital avatar to help revive this beautiful tradition.
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Born and brought up in Madhya Pradesh, Asha tai was the headmistress of Kasturba Kanya Vidhyalaya in Tumsar for eight years. Before moving to Nagpur, she was also posted as the Principal of N.H. Girls’ High School in Brahmapuri. Then she joined Navyug Vidhyalaya in Nagpur as a language teacher -- a post that she held for 30 years until she retired in 1999.
“Sahitya Vihar began in 1971 as a small organization known by the name of Mitra Mandal (a committee of friends),” she says. With about 15 members at the time, the organization used to conduct informal meetings at their houses. Asha tai took the first step of initiating a programme on a large scale at the Rajaram Dixit Library Hall in the year 2005. Following the success of the event, similar programmes took place in the Scientific Hall of Nagpur in 2007 and 2009. In 2011, Asha tai felt the need to get the organization registered and this is how Sahitya Vihar was officially born on November 9, 2011.
She started by publishing monthly magazines of Sahitya Vihar. “It was basically a booklet of 16 pages, sold at a reasonable prize of Rs. 5. In the very first year, we sold out 1,000 copies of the magazine,” she recalls.
The motto of her orgainsation is “Sarva Bhasha Sama Bhava” meaning “All languages must be treated equally”. With this aim in mind, Sahitya Vihar organizes multi-lingual poetry competitions every month. “A fee of Rs. 50 is collected from all participants and the same is distributed to all winners,” she says. Then a grand multi-lingual competition is organized on the last Sunday of December every year. “This helps in bringing people belonging to different cultures together.”
Asha Tai herself is a multi-lingual poetess and has published 19 books of poetry in Marathi, Hindi, English, Sanskrit, and Urdu.
Sahitya Vihar also publishes books by upcoming poets to encourage them. The organization has 110 members now --all distinguished fellows in their own fields with a common interest in poetry. Dr. Pankaj Chande (Founder and Vice Chancellor of Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Ramtek), Dr. Vinayak Deshpande (Head, Department of Management studies of Nagpur University), Dr. Leena Rastogi (renowned Sanskrit scholar), and Shri Shyam Kant Kulkarni (children’s author) are some of the reputed members.
Asha tai has been the backbone of Sahitya Vihar. Even at the age of 78, she handles all the paper work from home.
She was conferred with the title of ‘Sahityalankar’ by Mahanubhav Vishwa Bharati –an organisation in Amravati, Maharashtra, for her Ghazals.
Sahitya Vihar is now planning to launch a book-fair. “All the literature lovers are invited to attend the same.” she says. The book-fair is scheduled for November 27, 2016 and will be held at Sarveshvara Devalaya, Ram Nagar, Nagpur.
Team Sukhan[/caption]
The Better India spoke with Sukhan’s founder Om Bhutkar on the occasion of the group’s first anniversary.
Bringing a cultural programme in Urdu to an audience that is mostly Marathi-speaking has its unique challenges. Even cultural programmes in Hindi have not gained popularity in Pune. Om himself was introduced to Urdu only seven years ago when he started reading Urdu ghazals and shayari (poetry), often looking up words in the dictionary. Ghalib turned out to be one of his favourite poets and he ended up penning a play based on his life. The play Mi, Ghalib, a contemporary interpretation of Ghalib, was well-received in Pune and the shows went on for over four years.
According to Om, the language barrier is not really a problem; it is mostly a fear of the new and unexplored that makes us hesitant to embrace a new language. In selecting the verses, he says, they usually choose poetry where the meaning isn’t dependant solely on the words.
A full house at Sukhan's show at Yashwantrao Chavan Auditorium, Pune[/caption]
The performance often begins with the story ‘Dimakon Ki Malika Se Ek Mulaqat’ by Mujtaba Husain, which sets the tone for the show. It then moves on to recitations of ghazals, nazms, as well as Urdu prose and musical renditions of ghazals and qawwalis. Its format lying somewhere between the realms of theatre and orchestra, offering an amalgamation of musical performances, storytelling (also known as Dastaangoi in Urdu), as well as prose recitation of Urdu poetry, Sukhan’s content varies with every performance. There are some new compositions and musical elements in every show.
This February, Sukhan had the honour of inaugurating Pune’s prestigious Vinod and Sarayu Doshi National Theatre Festival. Apart from doing shows in Pune, the team has performed in Ahmednagar and Daund. The team comprises a dozen 20-somethings, who are incredibly passionate about the language.
Nachiket Devasthali (left) and Om Bhutkar[/caption]
Shillong Chamber Choir[/caption]
Shillong Chamber Choir[/caption]
Shillong Chamber Choir with Amitabh Bachchan and Vishal Dadlani[/caption]
Shillong Chamber Choir at a performance[/caption]
Shillong Chamber Choir members with their 'Uncle Neil'[/caption]
Members of the Shillong Chamber Choir[/caption]
A screen grab of the digital exhibition.[/caption]
“This project is an effort to recognise the impact of Indian women in history and their impact on culture and while looking at where we are, we also wanted to look forward and inspire women and leaders of the future,” Luisella Mazza, Head of Operations at the Google Cultural Institute, said in a statement.
The exhibition draws on 2500 years of Indian history and has sourced materials from 26 cultural institutions across the country. Here, you can learn about Rakhmabai Raut, the first practising female Indian doctor, trace the life story of social reformer Savitribai Phule, or get the facts on Muthulakshmi Reddi, India’s first woman legislator. The scope of the collection is panoramic, capturing stories of artists, royalty, social activists, and political leaders. Also, it is not limited to women of the past; it showcases the work of contemporary Indian women as well.
A screen grab of the website.[/caption]
The site also has gigapixel images, composed of one billion pixels, which make it possible to zoom in and view high-resolution close-ups of paintings.
The exhibition is not just an attempt to highlight the contribution of women to India’s rich cultural traditions but also an invitation to explore more deeply some of the work and collections that are on display on the platform.
Mangalamapalli Balamuralikrishna[/caption]
M Balamuralikrishna[/caption]
A painting by Ashish Kachhwaha[/caption]
Their work reflects many shades of the Baigas’ way of life – their tattooing patterns, their lifestyle and their customs.
Manoj Dwivedi (left) and Ashish Kachhwaha[/caption]
The self-taught artists’ work has been recognised at the national level and both have showcased their art in numerous exhibitions across the country. Ashish’s work is currently on display in a show called The Lair at the Egg Art Studio in Delhi.
The talented artists could have easily moved out of the forest and settled down in metro cities to pursue their art. However, a love of nature and their deep connection with the Baiga tribe made them stay back in their land of birth. Manoj and Ashish have been collaborating with each other for the past 17 years.
At Kanha, they help the Baigas find alternative livelihood opportunities and also work as wildlife rescuers. Aside from being associated with several NGOs working in the area, they also brought together local artisans and craftsmen to form a group called Mudra.
A painting by Ashish Kachhwaha[/caption]
For instance, a painting by Ashish shows a shabby parcel of wrinkled newspaper tied with a piece of string. The tiger skin wrapped inside is visible from one end of the parcel. Ironically, the news printed on the broadsheet wrapping is about the Kanha Tiger Reserve being given an award for its active stance against illegal tiger poaching.
The Baiga Trails has been organised by Footloose Journeys, a Pune-based travel venture devoted to responsible and sustainable tourism.
A portrait of a Baiga child by Ashish Kachhwaha[/caption]
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A wood sculpture of a Baiga woman by Manoj Dwivedi[/caption]
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A painting by Ashish Kachhwaha[/caption]
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A wood sculpture by Manoj Dwivedi[/caption]
To know more about 
Vadya Vithika has a wide display of Indian tribal instruments[/caption]
For example, the Tiwa community of Assam is well known for its soulful music, varied musical instruments and lively folk dances. Instruments like Khram (a long cylindrical drum that typically uses deer skin as the playing surface), Pangsi (a flute made of Bamboo), Singa Pepa (another kind of flute made of the horn of Buffalo) and Taal (a rhythm instrument consisting of two metallic cymbals) are used to play foot-tapping music during festivals like Jonbeel Mela, Borot Utsav and the spring festival Sagara Misawa.
Vadya Vithika has a wide display of vulnerable Indian tribal instruments[/caption]
Gauri Shinde's recently released film, Dear Zindagi[/caption]
Jab We Met[/caption]
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara[/caption]
Queen[/caption]
3 Idiots[/caption]
Anand[/caption]
I am the Islam,
whose blood soaks the streets
My lips do not smile when death arrives,
my smile does not appear much these days.
My legs ache, I am the single mother
waiting for a part of herself to return home
to have the sound “ma” fill her empty home
He now prefers the streets, listens to music he does not understand,
memories of ma disappear with a puff of smoke.
I am each life
you thought too insignificant,
so you stole their last breath for your greed.
My Gucci bag is soaked with the blood of lives that did not matter enough,
The screams and cries of those we never cared to hear.
I am obesity, the girl you point fingers at,
accusing tones, now her background music;
she seeks her confidence lost, releasing all her self-hate in the sink.
Finger stuck orally too deep, hoping to throw up what she can never be.
My mind used to be a plain blank sheet that is now etched with colors of the night,
Of pollution,
Of gangrene and the dark maroon of suffering.
The disease of Hiroshima and Bhopal, shades of brown sticking to skin like the cancer
the future generations pay for.
I am war, earthquakes and hurricanes,
I am nature taking back what is rightfully hers.
Part my legs, tear my skin, the bruises fall off eventually, be prepared for the day I rise
like a Phoenix from the ashes, from below your feet where you have suffocated me,
You steal my voice no more.
I am water, air, fire and earth – tame me you may try, but my fury has no bounds
My people once were all one.
We were all Africa.
I am an aboriginal; born from the earth.
We are all children of this soil, and as we close our eyes to our final realm
As we descend into the same rings of purgatory
we all return to the same darkness.
While we still have light in our eyes why not fight for the same cause..
Just imagine, you could be anyone.
Brahman
Mohammad.
The Great Spirit
Jesus.
Siddhartha
The Universe
If you could just close your eyes
You’ll realize.
We are no color, gender or race.
We are no religion,
cannot be defined by space,
we bleed the same,
haven’t we seen enough red-stained fields to know this?
Open your eyes, you are me and I am you
we come from the earth
we are strength,
we are magic,
we are the greatest work of art,
Today we take back our voice
Today we are enough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQuYdDHS8hs
A poem written by poets Shaun D’Souza and Simran Narwani from Open Sky.
Team Open Sky is raising funds to be at the Goa Arts and Literature festival, come December 2016. To help in any way, drop a mail at 
Shivaraju BS, also knows as 'Cop Shiva'[/caption]
Since Shivaraju had no training in photography, 1shanthiroad also served a space for informal instruction. His interactions with various photographers, especially with Suresh Jayram who displayed his work in this gallery, helped Shivaraju learn more about the technical aspects of taking photographs. Cop Shiva’s impressive Instagram feed features stunning portraits of people he meets everyday on his beat.
His first professional project, Being Gandhi, reflects this interest in documenting the lives of unsung heroes.
Bagadehalli Basavaraj, a 46-year-old man who is the subject of this series, lives in a small village called Chikmagalur in Karnataka. Chikmagalur is one of the two places in India where there is a temple dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. Basavaraj has been working as a teacher in various local schools for the past 29 years. He was born into an impoverished family and had to struggle to educate himself. This made him understand, early in life, the importance and value of giving to people less fortunate than himself. Bagadehalli Basavaraj looks to Gandhi for inspiration and has been spreading the message of service to humanity through the performing arts for the past 14 years.
Was it the first time that his work was displayed at an international venue? He says, “ My work has been exhibited in several national and international galleries and exhibitions. And it has been part of several group exhibitions not only in India but also in countries like the US, UK, Spain, Switzerland, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Germany. I am very happy my work has been seen in so many places.”
Shivaraju says 2017 is going to be “an intense and fruitful” year for him. He has been invited by the Swedish Arts Council for a three-month residential programme to work with the local art community in the country.
Does he have any advice for upcoming artists in the country? Shivaraju says, “Being an artist is a very personal experience, believing in yourself and finding your own voice is a complex and painful journey. Once you decide to take your work seriously, everything falls into place, and of course all your life experiences and skills help you to deal with the subject.”
The view from Himalayan Resort, Sonapani[/caption]
The resort is also host to a very special film festival that takes place twice a year, when its usually quiet environs are livened up with the presence of offbeat filmmakers, a few dozen enthusiastic attendees, and an atmosphere where impromptu music sessions and passionate discussions are a daily norm.
Verandah outside the screening room/dining hall[/caption]
The story of Sonapani begins with the couple who created it. For Ashish Arora it was love at first sight, but Deepa Pathak’s appreciation for mountain living grew over time.
Ashish Arora[/caption]
The decision to shift from Delhi to the hills was not an easy one. The couple, along with their 21-day-old daughter, packed their rundown Maruti 800 with whatever it could carry and drove from the capital to Uttarakhand. “I told Ashish: Kahan patak diya (where have you brought me)?” Deepa says. “For three-and-a-half years I spread gobar (cow dung) on the floor. In the mornings, Vanya, my infant daughter, would be red from flea bites, because of course there were bugs in the wood and in the dung, but we didn’t have the money to change the flooring.” The beginnings were difficult but on May 1, 2004, after two years of searching for land and an additional two years of construction, Sonapani Himalayan Village was open for business. “It was only after living here,” Deepa says, “I realized this is what suits me, makes me happy.”
Gurpal Singh (standing) with festival attendees[/caption]
Gurpal’s common link with Ashish was a community of art lovers called ‘Musicians, Artists, Filmmakers, Interested Log, Aa Jao,’ fondly called MAFIA. “In MAFIA,” Ashish says, “some great collaborations happen. I shared my dream about a film festival; I had this thing in my mind for some time but I didn’t know how to go about it. Gurpal said let’s do it and the film festival started from there.”
For the past six years, Gurpal has been inviting three filmmakers at each biannual festival with a two-fold purpose. “The idea is to celebrate excellence,” he says, along with providing an intimate space for filmmaker and film viewers, two dozen at most, to interact.” Here, he says, the key is bonding.
“You spend the days with them, you spend the nights with them. There’re the mountains, there’s lovely food. We don’t have a schedule and we leave it to the filmmakers to show what they want to show.”
This year’s festival brought three filmmakers together, diverse in their styles, yet united through excellent storytelling.
Gurvinder Singh holding an informal bread making session at the Himalayan Resort[/caption]
Shilpa Ranade teaches animation at IIT Bombay. Her animated feature Gopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya, based on a Satyajit Ray classic, brought to life hand-drawn images of intense colour and intricacy. In her short films Naja Goes to School and Mani’s Dying, her characters, hand executed again in with watercolours and crayon, moved like puppets.
Kamal KM’s feature length ID sliced a cross section of Mumbai and followed the protagonist through an overpowering system of privilege and poverty, chaos and compassion.
What makes the Sonapani film festival stand out, says Kamal, a filmmaker from Kerala, is the ability to talk about anything and everything. “It is like a family where you don’t love anyone in particular, but everyone.”
Katrina Dikkers, a second-time attendee of the festival, works for the American Indian Foundation in Delhi. “On the last day [Gurpal] wanted us to take a picture,” she remembers fondly, “I was leaving early and he said ‘Let’s take a picture before Katrina leaves.’” It’s this intuitive compassion, this inclusiveness that has brought her back to Sonapani multiple times, for the festival and otherwise.
Amongst the other attendees of the festival, Anant Mann – architect by profession, traveller by passion – can be considered a seasoned veteran.
“Gurpal always says, there are no strangers here, only friends you haven’t yet met,” she says. This is her fifth Sonapani Film Festival. Anant chanced upon Sonapani as part of her wanderlust a few years ago. “Once I went, I was just hooked. After that, I’ve been to each and every [festival].”
The Himalayan Resort where the film festival is held[/caption]
Leisure, not laziness. Living, not wasting time. These are not just romantic ideals, they are the need of the hour. In an era where phones are smart because they allow us to live in isolation, where free time must be filled and not relished, where thoughts of today are clouded with to-do lists for an unseen tomorrow, spaces like the Sonapani Film Festival allow one to experience life for what it needs to be – a forger of relationships, an opportunity to choose one’s moments and savour them, a space to learn, to laugh, to lose oneself in the present, with stories.
For information on future festivals, you can contact Ashish Arora at ashish@himalayanvillage.com.
Aanya[/caption]
Aanya started painting at the age of seven, and started canvas painting about a year ago. Her mother realized that her talent would let her help the other underprivileged children she wants to help. So she told Aanya to make paintings that she could give to CRY to raise money and help the children that are her age and do not have the resources and privileges that she does. Aanya is very possessive about her paintings – like you would expect an 11-year-old to be – but she chose to use her talent for a good cause. She finds it difficult to give away her paintings, especially the ones with flowers, but even at her young age she realizes that she can always make more for herself.
Teachers often open up a world for students. Aanya’s art teacher shares books and different painting ideas with her and the little girl picks up the ones which excite her. It takes Aanya a few days, to sometimes two weeks, to give the final shape to a painting, many of which she has given away with love to CRY. She says,
Aanya in the process of creating a colourful canvas[/caption]
A happy buyer at the CRY event![/caption]
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Aanya’s paintings were an instant hit with visitors![/caption]
People loved her paintings, and when they got to know that they were made by an 11-year-old, they did not even hesitate before purchasing them. In fact, a girl in the same age-group as Aanya was so fascinated by the idea that someone her age created such a beautiful piece of art that she could not help buying it.
“I would like to continue painting as a hobby. And yes, I would like to hold another exhibition,” Aanya adds. Her creative spirit is boundless – she dreams of becoming a singer when she grows up, with painting always by her side.
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Not stopping anytime soon![/caption]
Aanya has started a movement that in a way which is inspiring not only for adults, but also affects children of her age in a very positive way. This just goes to prove that every hand is capable of creating magic.
CRY volunteers are diverse: age-wise, background-wise, and interest- and skill-wise. That diversity adds depth and reach to our efforts and impact. They are our everyday heroes!