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Mint
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
Artist Madhvi Parekh presents fantastical worlds in a new solo show
At DAG, Delhi, an exhibition of paintings offers insight into artist Madhvi Parekh's prowess as a storyteller. The solo presentation, Madhvi Parekh: Remembered Tales, features a set of newly completed works by the 83-year-old artist. Canvases often feature narratives nestled within one another. In Goddess of My Village, an acrylic on canvas (2023), two heads appear to be connected by a tapering tubular form. This slender conduit, of sorts, contains smaller figures—plants, fish, fantastical organisms—creating a world within a world. You could assume that the two connected figures have subsumed these smaller creatures, or that their overall persona is the sum of all these little beings. The painting also features deities within temples, anthropomorphic creatures with human heads and piscine bodies, totemlike structures, and more. In another part of the gallery, another set of stories unfurls within Pond in my Village (2024). The scene seems to be set in some surrealistic realm, where the city and the village, the real and the dreamlike come together. Parekh populates her worlds with patterns, dots, dashes, embroidery-like textures, hybrid beings, and leaves their interpretation to the viewer. I meet Parekh at her home in Delhi's Chittaranjan Park in between spells of rain. The self-taught artist is a reluctant conversationalist, but her paintings speak a great deal on her behalf. In her creations, time frames collapse into one another, the past exists with the present. She brings scenes from the city and her memories of growing up in the village of Sanjaya, Gujarat, together in a single canvas with ease. The bird or pakshi is a recurring motif. It stands as a symbol of a free-spirited being, who travels between memories and geographies. To me, it represents Parekh herself, who takes the viewer by the hand on this time travel. The wide-eyed figures, which have become so emblematic of her practice, continue to make their presence felt in works such as Flower Vase in My Family (2024) and the triptych Travelling Circus in My Village, as representations of curious seekers. Also read: Planner: A lot of art with a side of theatre, 5 events to enjoy a cultural weekend Also on display at the exhibition are her sketchbooks, featuring drawings spanning 1978 to 2018, from DAG's archive, which show the evolution of the artist—from using textured backgrounds in the 1970s to the way she has built on everyday observations in her practice over time. 'For me, drawing is the foundation of everything. It offers a sense of freedom. Even now, while waiting at airports, I carry a book in which I keep sketching," she says. Accompanying the exhibition is a publication featuring scholarly pieces on Parekh's practice by Rebecca Brown of John Hopkins University and critic-writer Meera Menezes. Parekh often harks to the past in her conversations. 'Puraane dino ki baatein karne mein bohot accha lagta hai (It feels great to reminisce about the olden days)," she laughs. She lives with memories of ponds, mustard fields, temples, wedding processions, circus performers and behrupiyas (impersonator), who would visit her village during festivals. Parekh was raised with Gandhian philosophy propagated by her father, who was an educator. 'I grew up with three sisters and two brothers, and my father never discriminated between us. He was a selfmade man, who taught us the value of hard work and the importance of making full use of time," she reminisces. She got married to artist Manu Parekh at the age of 15 and moved to Mumbai, where they stayed in a small fifth floor apartment. There, everyday urban struggles took over, from water troubles to daily chores. Even then, art made inroads into her life. The couple would visit exhibitions at Jehangir Art Gallery and have elaborate discussions. She was in her 20s and pregnant with her oldest daughter, Manisha, when she decided to pursue art herself. 'I wanted to give my child a good sanskar (culture). So, I decided to take up something creative," she says. Also read: Morii Design: How a Gandhinagar-based studio is sewing up a stitch library Her husband, who had studied at Sir JJ School of Art, introduced her to Paul Klee's Pedagogical Sketchbook, and Parekh started experimenting with geometrical forms. She formed her own connections with memories of paintings on walls in her village during weddings and festivals and created her own language of dots and lines. The resulting vocabulary was so unique that even now experts find it hard to categorise it as a specific genre or style. Some find elements of primitivism while others see the folk imprint. 'At most, it can be said that her work parallels folk art, even though it is not like any known folk form in India or elsewhere, and has the rawness and energy associated with modernism," states the gallery note. It is this distinctive style that has seen Parekh in the international spotlight in recent years. In 2022, her paintings were chosen by Christian Dior as a backdrop to its haute couture show in Paris. This was followed by a show for Manu and Madhvi Parekh at the Venice Biennale (2024). Parekh's works are now part of major collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Fellow artist and husband, Manu, puts it best: 'She is a modern painter with a rural sensibility. She is not constrained by the idiom of folk art. And that gives her immense scope to evolve and grow." He finds immense depth in the practices of self-taught artists like Parekh and Bhupen Khakhar. 'I find the term 'self-taught' to be a misnomer. They too have learnt from someone and something. Instead of one teacher, they have 10 gurus. Their mind and intellect is their master too," he says. For Parekh, layers of experience have kept building on one another, enriching her visual syntax. The childhood memories of intricate and vibrant paintings on the dome of the Swaminarayan temple in her village, the narrations of Ramayan and Mahabharat during festivals and bhavai performances were joined by visits to international museums and institutions such as the Miro Foundation, Barcelona, with her husband. The paintings of Henri Matisse left a huge impression on her. A visit to the Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem a few years ago shook her to the core. 'Mann mein dukh lag raha tha (the heart was heavy). That's when I saw the figure of Jesus outside with his composed visage, and I started exploring the figure of Christ in my paintings," she says. Parekh imbibed learnings from fellow artists such as Nalini Malani, who taught her the reverse glass technique. The initial Christ series (2006) were made in this style. Later Parekh started working more with acrylics and canvas. Together with Malani, Arpita Singh and Nilima Sheikh, she also participated in a travelling exhibition called Through the Looking Glass in 1998. Also read: Three Indian galleries expand their presence in London with a unique showcase Textile has also played a huge role in her practice, with influence of kantha, kalamkari and sujani embroideries evident in her work. 'Back in our village, we all learnt embroidery and how to make the rangoli. During my travels, I saw different styles in different parts of the country. The colour scheme and patterns of the rangoli have always held a huge attraction for me," she elaborates. While Manu was posted in Kolkata as part of his work with the Weavers' Service Centre, Parekh was a keen participant in Kali and Durga pujas. The figure of the Goddess and the texture of kantha made its appearance in her work at the time. Meera Menezes, in her essay titled Madhvi Parekh's Fabular Worlds in the accompanying publication, writes about that time period. 'Her painting Ganesha in Boat was sparked by a stray remark—a person recounted to her that they made a Durga in a boat, leading Madhvi to experiment and place the elephant god in a boat. Like Durga, Ganesha too is a popular god, and Madhvi recalls his importance in rituals she experienced while growing up in Gujarat." More than anything else, it is the sense of play in her works that appeals to viewers and critics alike. 'There is always a reel going on in my mind. There used to be a pond in my village. My mother used to prohibit us from going there. In my realm of fantasy, I go there often. Later, when my eldest daughter was born, and I had to go to the Madras Art Camp, I used to wish for wings so that I could go home, feed her and then come back to paint. Such elements make their way from the mind to the canvas," she says. At DAG, New Delhi, till 23 August.
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Robot completes groundbreaking gall bladder operation with 100% success rate
Image credits: X Until now, AI robots were known to help humans by serving them food, cleaning around the house or assisting with day-to-day tasks. However, with constant experimentation and development, it has always been expected that AI can take over the world. That in the near future, it will be able to do everything that humans can and can not. One of the biggest and most groundbreaking steps in the direction has been achieved by an AI robot who recently successfully performed a gall bladder operation with 100% success rates, changing the future of medicine forever. The robot skillfully separated the gall bladder from the liver of a dead pig. Now experts are hoping that automated surgeries can be used as a treatment method for humans within the next decade. 'The future is bright – and tantalisingly close,' said Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena, a Medical Robotics professor at Imperial College London, to New Scientist. The surgery marks a stepping stone for AI robots into the world of complex tasks. For the operation, the robot surgeon was powered by a two-tier AI system trained on 17 hours of video encompassing 16,000 motions. How did the AI robot perform the operation? Image credits: X The hard work was divided between the two layers. While the first one watched the video footage and created plain-language instructions, the second one turned each instruction into three-dimensional tool motions so that the operations could be completed. The robot achieved 100% success in every task and just to ensure that its performance wasn't a fluke, it performed the same operation seven more times. Each time, with complete success. Will AI robots replace human doctors? Well, isn't AI itself a human creation? And just like humans, it seems AI makes mistakes too. The experiment was led by a team of researchers from John Hopkins University in Baltimore. 'This made us look into what is the next generation of robotic systems that can help patients and surgeons,' said Axel Krieger from Johns Hopkins. However, humans need not worry anytime soon as the bot had to self-correct itself multiple times. 'There were a lot of instances where it had to self-correct, but this was all fully autonomous,' Krieger explained. 'It would correctly identify the initial mistake and then fix itself.' Additionally, the bot also had to ask the humans to replace one of its surgical instruments, meaning the operation wasn't entirely automated. Now, according to Kreiger the next step would be to let the robot autonomously operate on a live animal where living and breathing could complicate things.
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Measles cases in the US reach 33-year high
The number of reported measles cases in the US has reached a 33-year high, with nearly 1,300 confirmed infections across the country as of Friday. The data, released by John Hopkins University, marks a new milestone in an ongoing outbreak of the highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease that was once thought to be eliminated in the cases have been reported in 38 states and the District of Columbia this year. At least three people have died from the illness, and 155 others were in hospital.A vast majority of the measles cases - 92% - were in people who were either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown, according to the Centres for Disease Control (CDC). The worst hit state is Texas, CDC data shows, where more than 700 cases have been reported. Other states with dozens of cases include Kansas and New measles outbreak does little to counter vaccine scepticism in TexasAs cases climb in the US, do you need another measles shot?Health officials say that measles spread is occurring mostly in neighbourhoods where vaccination rates are lower, such as Mennonite communities in Texas that opt out of modern medicine. The outbreak comes as anti-vaccine sentiment in the US and elsewhere has grown in recent years. Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr had previously spread misinformation about childhood vaccinations and had minimised the outbreak. He later endorsed the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine as illness spread, saying in a post on X that it is "the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles".Measles cases in the US were at their highest in recent memory in 1990, with nearly 28,000 reported infections, according to CDC data. The illness was later declared eliminated around the year 2000, when cases sharply declined to less than 90 thanks to high vaccination rates and rapid outbreak started ticking up slightly in 2014 and again in 2019, when 1,274 confirmed infections were reported. But cases in 2025 have just surpassed that figure, with 1,277 infections now reported across the health experts have said that the US will lose measles elimination status if there is continued spread of measles at the current rate for more than 12 a result of the current outbreak, more people are now getting the measles vaccine in the US. Between 1 January and 16 March, Texas gave at least 173, 000 measles doses compared to 158,000 in the same time period last year, state health department data MMR vaccine is the most effective way to fight off the dangerous virus, which can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and death. The jabs are 97% effective and also immunise against mumps and measles outbreaks have been reported recently in other countries, including the UK. Last year marked the highest number of confirmed measles cases reported in England since 2012 at nearly 3,000. Since January of this year, there had been 529 cases reported in is also experiencing a measles outbreak, with more than 3,000 cases reported in 2025 so far. The bulk of the cases are in the provinces of Ontario and Alberta.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's U-Turn on China Buying Iranian Oil
Randa Slim, John Hopkins University SAIS Senior Fellow, speaks to Bloomberg TV about the truce between Israel and Iran after US President Donald Trump suggested China can continue to purchase oil from Iran. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
25-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump's U-Turn on China Buying Iranian Oil
The Asia Trade Randa Slim, John Hopkins University SAIS Senior Fellow, speaks to Bloomberg TV about the truce between Israel and Iran after US President Donald Trump suggested China can continue to purchase oil from Iran. (Source: Bloomberg)
