Cuisines & Culture

A mention of India today immediately conjures up images of the Taj Mahal and Slumdog Millionaire in the minds of foreigners. But until this latest wave of Indophilia struck, India had an entirely different association in the eyes of the rest of the globe. For centuries, the ancient world saw India as the Land of Spices.

The aroma of these flavourful plants wafted from the subcontinent and captured the imagination of the rest of the world. The Egyptian and Roman civilisations of history had steady trade relations with India based on the demand in those lands for Indian spices. In times of antiquity, Arab merchants revelled in profits thanks to their monopoly over the Spice Route. The rest of the world desired Indian spices so strongly that it sparked off the Age of Discovery. European seafarers left their native ports and braved the unpredictable seas with the lucrative goal of discovering a sea route to the Indian coast. Christopher Columbus discovered America because he was searching for India, and Ferdinand Magellan, the first captain to circumnavigate the globe, did so on the return leg of his journey from the subcontinent.

Whether the spices were being used for their taste or for their aroma, the Indian kingdoms dealing in them enjoyed a constant flow of income from the trade. The Indian association with spices is so strong that even today, with cultivation of spices in full swing across the tropics, the hallmark of Indian cuisine is its spiciness.

Amidst today’s environment of vanishing borders and the beginnings of a global village, food has become a badge of culture. Italy’s population might have a huge percentage of immigrants, but pasta will always remain distinctly Italian. In this scenario, exploring global cuisine has become an integral part of the experience of internationalisation.

AVID encourages multiculturalism, but not at the expense of forgetting your roots. Our Spices, Tastes and Flavours workshop with food blogger and enthusiast Rushina Ghildiyal aims to explore global culinary traditions, while experimenting with the quintessential Indian ingredients, spices! Bring Inspired Learning to your kitchen with AVID this Independence Day!

A Price for the Priceless

In March this year, a Pablo Picasso piece was sold for $155 million. It may seem like an astronomical sum, but $155 million is merely the monetary value of the painting. Art has far greater intangible value to its owners, and when compared to the satisfaction of owning an original masterpiece, the cost is merely an afterthought.

When it comes to art appreciation, there are those who admire good work and then there are art collectors. To a collector, a carefully curated collection is more than an assortment of paintings; it represents their passion, it is their source of pride and also doubles up as a lucrative investment. Some collections have been sold at sky-high prices, because when it comes to art, the whole is often greater than the sum of the parts.

“Collecting 101” is AVID’s salute to spirit of collecting art. With the event occurring tomorrow, today would be a good time to look at some of the most valuable pieces of art to have ever gone under the hammer.

$154 million: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I
Gustav Klimt painted this striking portrait of Adele under commission for Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. Adele also became the only model Klimt would paint twice, when he completed a second work titled Adele Bloch-Bauer II. The painting is currently on display at the Neue Galerie in New York City.

$155 million: Le Rêve
Painted in 1932, Le Rêve (The Dream) was a 50 year old Picasso’s tribute to his much younger mistress. The painting is laced with erotic subtext, with the artist weaving in a phallic symbol into the portrait. This work is the one that made headlines for its stupefying price tag this March.

$157.9 million: Woman III
Expressionist artist Willem de Kooning painted this piece as part of a series of abstract images with women as the theme. The work was purchased by Steven A. Cohen, the same private collector who purchased Le Rêve.

$160.8 million: No. 5
Jackson Pollock, pioneer of “action painting” and master of the drip technique, created this work in 1948. With a price tag of $160.8 million, the painting is easily one of the most valuable works by Pollock, but still falls far short of the next entry on this list.

$267 million: The Card Players
By far the most expensive painting ever sold, The Card Players by French artist Paul Cézanne has been described as “a human still life”. The models for the painting were farmhands on Cézanne’s family estate. The painting, which was sold at its sky-high price to the royal family of Qatar, is part of a five part series.

Share our passion for Art and join us at “Collecting 101”, a talk in collaboration with representatives from Christie’s!

 

 

 

sources: http://visual.ly/top-10-most-expensive-paintings-ever-sold
              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_paintings  

Representational Image courtesy :www.arts.nsw.gov.au

Taking the Graphic Route

With Man of Steel running in theatre screens near you, the superhero blockbuster of the season has arrived! As an audience, we love films depicting noble and righteous heroes battling against insurmountable evil. A superhero story is a concentrated, distilled version of this proven trope. For as long as these characters have been in the public consciousness, they have become personifications of the belief that with strength of purpose, good will triumph over evil.

The message of these comic book stories has a huge impact on the minds of young audiences, seeing as it contains simplified, easy-to-digest morals. This appeal to the younger generation is what has ensured the longevity of the comic book format. Children absolutely love the colourful pages with loud captions and lively characters. Man of Steel has a scene where it features a young boy dashing around trailing a red blanket behind him like a cape; art mirroring reality. Kids absolutely love living the fantasy of being a superhero, a modern demi-god.

The power of young minds is undeniable. The dreams of children shape the future, and their thoughts become the ideas of the future. Broadening children’s horizons through a medium they easily understand is an important task and this where the beauty of the comic book lies.

At AVID we want to help the next generation continue patronising the arts, and making the world a more inspired place to live in! The AVID Children’s Series looks to bring Inspired Learning to the kids, offering them a chance to spread their creative wings and soar high. We want to connect with the children and with our latest workshop, we are meeting them on their turf. With Create Your Own Comic, we want to trigger a transformation from reader to illustrator. Reaching out to young minds is a journey we are embarking on, and our first step will be to take the graphic route!

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AVID: Inspiring learners

There is no greater thirst than the thirst for knowledge; and at Avid Learning, we are as thirsty as they come. Since 2009, we have been tirelessly working to dispense learning and knowledge across the social spectrum.

It is important to know that no person can know everything. Pursuing knowledge is not the same as pursuing omniscience. However, it is imperative to keep learning long after your “student” days are behind you. We are all students in some way or the other, whether it’s the new housewife learning to cook for her in-laws or the senior business executive trying to wrap his brains around a new-fangled iSomething.

So at Avid Learning, we try and offer a diverse range of workshops and events that cater to a multitude of needs. We operate in a very creative and dynamic space, with our fingers in a multitude of pots. Cookery, Photography, Theatre, Art, Culture, Heritage, – AVID has been acquiring knowledge in these fields and many more.
Textbook expertise is not our goal, however. Interactivity is the hallmark of an AVID event. We believe that there is no teacher superior to experience, which makes us ensure that all events are hands-on affairs. Our faculty act less as teachers and more as guides, and encourage dialogue with the participants at all points. The activities and faculty, combined with the cheerful participants fill the AVID events with life!

At the events, the joy of learning new information is clear to see. From the youngest to the oldest, each participant walks away with something new to ponder in their head. This broadening of horizons is exactly what we aim for; because at AVID, we believe that a person’s growth only stops when their thirst for knowledge dies. Keeping that thirst alive is important, as knowledge is the only precious material which, once acquired, can never be taken away. So we wish to ignite a desire to learn, and consequently grow, in everyone we come across, which is our principle of “Inspired Learning”

So, if you’re open-minded and want to add value to your life, watch this blog! And remember, Learning Never Stops!