Krazy Kochi

(I know of two rapists who were never charged. How many do you know?) One afternoon, more than 20 years ago, at a college youth festival in Kochi, I was with a bunch of friends at a neighbouring college canteen. A few boys known to my friends (friends of friends) joined the group. The sun was high overhead and a degree of ennui had seeped into our mindless chatter. Sitting on wooden benches, munching vadas, we had let the conversation drift and drag: from the usual to the boring. It was just a regular, sweaty afternoon. The scene so commonplace: a few college boys chatting up a few college girls. But that afternoon is tattooed deep in my memory- singled out from the rest of my college afternoons- and singed there. The boy with the curls, sitting opposite me, began to casually talk about the woman he had raped in Chennai. His tone was not loud or bragging- just a bored shrug. And he inferred he was not alone in this evil act- there was a bunch of them- maybe four or five.

The first week of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale saw artists working hard to get their installations up. It was not all fun for them but it definitely gave us-the visitor- an insight into how art is created. Artists too, said they learnt a thing or two. Said one artist,“Even international artists were busy hammering stuff. They had to do it if they wanted to exhibit. Many of the biennales like the Venice one is over a hundred years old. So we don’t know how it began but here we are at a historic moment. We are watching how the curators are struggling to get the biennale going.” Artists Ernesto Neto, Angelica Mesiti, Ahmed Mater speak about their work, the biennale and answer some other random questions. Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto has visualized relationships with materials and spices.  Read on:   http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/04/portraits-from-the-kochi-biennale-sculptor-ernesto-neto/ Ernesto Neto: On relationships Austrailian artist Angelica Mesiti talk

Ernesto Neto's installation "Life is a River" Read about it: http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/14/in-kerala-a-distinctly-indian-art-fair-with-international-appeal/

Mumbai-based artist Anant Joshi's installation at Aspinwall House On Pepper House’s sea-facing wall in Fort Kochi, Kerala, a black and white dragonfish mural beckons seafarers, tourists and fishermen to join the cultural revelry. A glass in one fin and a cigarette dangling from the other, the debonair fish celebrates the arty reincarnation of the ancient cities of Kochi and Muziris. It’s this that the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2012 is attempting to construct—the eternal return—using the ancient narrative as a premise for contemporary art. Round the corner, colours continue to cavort on the walls of Aspinwall House where five young artists have left their imprints. A sea monster, a dragon and a phoenix named Lulu have taken up residence on these walls. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale, starting on 12/12/12, will be the first of its kind in India in terms of sheer scale and should change the landscape of the city forever. Art critic and poet Ranjit Hoskote says a biennale is the mos