The Weekend Guide

Zara.

SHOPPING
Sales!
Sharpen your elbows and first head to Zara, where the high street brand’s spring/summer collections are on sale, with discounts starting at 30 per cent. From there, go to Ensemble—the multi-label boutique is offering up to 70 per cent off on covetable designer labels like Anamika Khanna, Gaurav Gupta, Anand Kabra, James Ferreira and Tarun Tahiliani to name a few, but only until Saturday. Round off your spree at Landmark, where from Friday, July 6, books, games, DVDs and toys will all be discounted by up to 70 per cent.
When: The Zara sale runs until stocks last; the Ensemble sale runs through to Saturday, July 7; and the Landmark sale runs until Sunday, August 5.
Where: For Zara locations, see here; for Landmark locations, see here. Ensemble, Great Western Building, 130/132 Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Lion Gate. Tel: 2287 2882. White Hall, Ground Floor, West Wing, 143 August Kranti Marg, Kemps Corner. Tel: 2367 2416. Mi Casa, junction of St. Theresa Road and 28th Road, near Tavaa restaurant, Bandra (West). Tel: 2642 0643.

TALKS
Lectures
Two talks this Friday will give you insight into two vastly different fields; at the National Gallery of Modern Art, journalist, author and poet Jerry Pinto will trace the origins of the now-defunct Mumbai-based poetry publishing collective Clearing House. At the Godrej Culture Lab’s Friday Funda talk meanwhile, the former head of public policy at Google India Venkatesh Hariharan will discuss the power of collaborative innovation and its uses in varied forms, including open source software applications, Wikipedia and drug discovery efforts.
When: The Clearing House talk will be held on Friday, July 6, at 7pm; the Friday Funda will begin at 5pm.
Where: Auditorium, National Gallery of Modern Art, Sir Cowasji Jehangir Public Hall, M. G. Road, Fort. Call 96198 42954 for further information. Admission is free, but on a first-come, first-served basis. Godrej Culture Lab, Auditorium (above the Canteen), Gate 2, Godrej Industries, Vikhroli (East). Entry is free but RSVP by emailing fridayfundas@godrejinds.com.

MUSIC
Bandish at the NCPA
The National Centre for the Performing Arts’s weekend-long Indian classical music festival “Bandish” offers a chance to hear some of the country’s best-known vocalists performing “covers” of “hits” by a number of the genre’s legendary singers. Well, not exactly. The word “bandish” loosely translates into “composition” or “song” albeit one that leaves scope for improvisation. On Friday, Patiala gharana exponent Ajoy Chakrabarty will sing the compositions of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, and Ulhas Kashalkar will render those of the Agra gharana’s Shrikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar. On Saturday, Carnatic classical vocalist Sudha Raghunathan will present a recital of works by saint-poets Purandara Dasa and Thyagaraja. Sunday is dedicated to the Benaras gharana; singing siblings Rajan and Sajan Mishra will interpret the repertoire of Bade Ramdas Mishra, while veteran vocalist Girija Devi will showcase the semi-classical compositions of Shambhunath and Shyamcharan Mishra.
When: From Friday, July 6 to Sunday, July 8; from 6.30pm on all three days.
Where: Tata Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, NCPA Marg, Nariman Point. Tel: 6622 3737. Tickets are priced at Rs120, Rs240, Rs320 and Rs500 on Friday and Sunday; and at Rs120, Rs240 and Rs320 on Saturday.

ALSO AROUND TOWN
• Watch some of the rising stars of Indian classical dance at the Sam Ved Society for Performing Arts’s Raindrops Festival, which runs from Thursday, July 5 to Saturday, July 7 at Ravindra Natya Mandir. Odissi dancer Sanchita Bhattacharya and the students of festival organiser and kathak dancer Uma Dogra perform on Thursday; kathak dancer Richa Gupta, kuchipudi dancer Hithaishy Dhanan and Odissi dancer Rahul Acharya on Friday; and mohiniattam dancer Kadambari Khase, bharatanatyam dancer Ritwika Ghosh and kathak dancer Anuradha Singh on Saturday. Donor passes are priced at Rs50 and Rs100 for the recitals, which will begin at 7.30pm on all three days. Mini Theatre, Third Floor, PL Deshpande Maharashatra Kala Academy/Ravindra Natya Mandir, next to Siddhivinayak Temple, Prabhadevi.

• Marvel at photographer Niyati Upadhya’s black-and-white series called The Cult of the Street, which documents the antiquated clinics of “bone setters” on Charni Road. The works are on display at the False Ceiling gallery in Bandra, from Monday to Saturday, between 5pm and 10pm; Sunday, between noon and 8pm. From Friday, July 6 until Sunday, July 22. False Ceiling Gallery, 111 Bungalow, opposite IMMPA House, Ambedkar Road, Pali Naka, Bandra (West).

• Dance to drum n’ bass and dubstep at city-based electronica trio Mental Martians’ gig at Blue Frog this Friday, July 6, from 10.30pm onwards. The entry fee is Rs500. Blue Frog, Mathuradas Mills Compound, Tulsi Pipe Road, Lower Parel. Tel: 6158 6158.

• Move to the music of Israeli electronica DJ and producer Guy J at F Bar, Lounge and Diner, from 10.30pm this Friday, July 6, when customers can either pay a Rs500 entry free or a cover charge of Rs3,000 to get in. F Bar, Lounge and Diner, One IndiaBulls Centre, A2 Tower One, Third Floor, next to Gold’s Gym, Senapati Bapat Marg, Elphinstone Road. Tel: 6650 5820.

• See the found object and wood sculptures of Ritesh Meshram and Bhuvanesh Gowda, who will both show new works at Chemould Prescott Road gallery, in solo exhibitions starting Saturday, July 7. Until Friday, August 3. From Monday to Saturday, 11am to 7pm; Sunday closed. Chemould Prescott Road Gallery, Queens Mansion, Third Floor, G. T. Marg, Fort. Tel: 2200 0211.

• Get the kids to learn how to make their own clown caps at a free craft workshop at the Oberoi Mall at 2pm this Sunday, July 8. Oberoi Mall, Oberoi Garden City, off the Western Express Highway, Goregaon (East). Tel: 4099 0824.