© Udantya 2011

Udantya**dwelling beyond the boundry

© Udantya 2011

Welcome to the first issue ofUdantya!

________________________________We’ve chosen to reflect on the month gone by; stories

that have resonated with us, photographs that havecaptured our minds and tidbits from all over!

__________________________Backstage Pass The essence of Udantya

Megaphone A word from the Editors

Spotlight Wisconsin Stands Up to Republic High-handedness

YES+

Darkroom Through Our Lens: A slide show of a few of ourfavorites.

Armchair Critic Our review of the 2011 Oscar AnimatedShorts

Jam Session Bon Bonbon: Become a chocolatier from home.Poetic Justice

©Namita Azad

The dreamers of the day are dangerous people, for they dreamtheir dreams with open eyes, and make them come true.

Beat Box! This month’s music picks from Udantya*

© Udantya 2011

BACKSTAGE PASS

The very essence of artistic expression is that, it is captured in many different ways.

A picture, a word or a tune.Your rebellion, your journey and your destination.

Here, we aim to capture it all. Join us or explore with us.Welcome to Udantya

Welcome to our creative space!

Udantya aims to be a collaborative effort. If you have any articles, photos or music you would like to share,please email us at udantya@gmail.com. Future themed issues will be announced a month in advance.

© Udantya 2011

MEGAPHONE

From the Editors

Namita AzadAlways do something worth writing.

Always write something worth reading. It’salmost an addiction, to always desire and neverburn out. To question, but also make your ownanswers. There’s just so much to know, do andachieve that not only do twenty-four hours in aday seem limiting, but even a lifetime too short!

It was a rainy afternoon, just the perfectkind. I was sitting in my favorite coffee shop,taking in the strong scent of the latte that wasplaced in front of me. My fingers were racingpast the pages of a magazine. Somewhere inbetween all this, I read the one quote that hasetched itself firmly into my existence… “On thebattlefield of ideas, winning requires movingtowards the sound of guns.”

Cut to four years later, we’re sitting in thehospital’s cafeteria, sulking over yet anotherlousy meal and brainstorming a photoshoot idea.Once again, somewhere in between all that,Udantya lit like a spark! Ideas poured out and it

almost seemed like we had been designing this allalong. We knew immediately this was the door to

open.

Udantya isthe avenuewe havechosen toexplore ourcreativeinstincts. Itis the spacewhich willallow us tobe able toexplode all

forms of expression; the canvas, the lens, the penand so many more yet to be discovered. It is amedium through which we not only see with oureyes, but with our mind; to take it all in and addback to the world around us.

It is our courageous first step on thebattlefield of expressive articulation!

And yes, we’ve only just begun!

© Udantya 2011

Aparna VidyasagarI would be incomplete if I could not sketch

or paint; if I could not weave a story or createcharacters; if I could not see magic in an oldbuilding; if I could not frame a picture in mymind and wish I had my camera with me. This iswhat buoys my spirits after a humdrum week andgives me hope for something bigger than a set ofwell thought out experiments!

Udantya to me is the platform from which Ican share these aspects of myself. It is mycreative conscience. It serves to make sure Inever let artistic expression fall to the way side.It is also a means by which I can reach out topeople, chronicle their stories, their experiencesand their talent. I know I will be richer for theconnections I make here.

This magazine, or blog, or portal ofexpression is anything that you and I wantit to be. It is free in its spirit.

For those of you who are curious, Udantyais a Sankrit word which means ‘dwelling beyondthe boundary‘. We thought it was apt to dig deepand look to our roots for a name that best suits

our new venture. Whether the originalconnotation of the word is mundane or not, Icannot be certain. However, we choose to thinkof it as a metaphor for unfettered and unboundexpression and personal tales.

Udantya has been many years in themaking. I don’t mean that we have been workingon it actively, but that we have spent many anhour envisioning the day it would come intobeing. It was just about a month ago that wefinally sat down and decided to stop dealing in‘what if’ and ‘some day’, and decided we wouldjust do it. And here we are today!

© Udantya 2011

SPOTLIGHTWisconsin Unites Against the Bill

For the past fortnight, the people of Wisconsin have been standing united in protest of Governor ScottWalker’s Bill. This bill will eliminate all collective bargaining rights for state employees.

The atmosphere in the city of Madison has been of great energy and passion with the start of theseprotests. Students, teachers, state employees and union leaders, all have crowded the streets around the

State Capitol with many spending nights in the Rotunda.

With the senate Democrats still missing in action, one cannot accurately predict the outcome of thissituation. We can be assured that the state of Wisconsin will not lose this battle without a strong fight!

© Udantya 2011

YES+We find the strength within us; we share it with the world around us and gain the ability to steer thedirection of our mind. This is the simple idea of the YES+ program. A project founded under the Art ofLiving organization, YES+ is targeted towards the youth and aims to empower young minds in gainingmore control through exercising simple breathing techniques while instilling the idea of service in thepursuit of fulfillment.

“Everyone understands their enlightened side differently. For one person it’s the side that can take afinal without stress, for someone else it’s about re-connecting with a level of freedom experienced onlyas a kid, and for a third person it means taking responsibility for the world around them. When we arein touch with our enlightened side we are happy, we are in the moment, and we naturally want to help

others get there too. This is the basis of yes plus” – YES+ Program.

I was first introduced to the program in February of 2010 by a friend who had just completed the course.When I was contemplating the course, I would ask my friend for details in order to understand what thecourse was all about, but never could get a concrete answer. Looking back, I now realize that it is animpossible task to explain what the five days of YES + entail, simply because it is an experience and notan activity. On the first day our teacher, Emma Seppala said “Don’t believe a word I say through thiscourse; like a scientist, test it out for yourself!” What you take from it and how you perceive it, iscompletely subjective; reinforcing the idea that the power lies within you to make the change outside ofyou.

YES+ at UW-Madison doing a morning yoga routine on Bascom Hill.

© Udantya 2011

The YES+ program is conducted all over the world with specialized programs for university students,war veterans and mid-age adults. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, YES+ was started in 2009 andis now regularly held every few months with an increase in participants by nearly double, each time. Thelarge and diverse student population at UW-Madison makes the YES+ a unique experience on thiscampus. “Everyone becomes your best friend at the end of these five days,” says Pranav Chhabria, YES+alumnus and member of the coordinating committee.

The YES+ course lasts a total of five days and encompasses numerous inter-personal activities, yogalessons and breathing techniques. The biggest highlight is the Service Day which happens on the fourthday of the course. Students work on various charity projects that range from frown protests, buyinglunch for homeless individuals, sun-salutation flash mobs, writing small heartfelt messages (‘Smilemessages’) and distributing candy to people all over campus.

Students writing smile messages in preparation for their Service Day project.

YES+ is a great starting point for anyone who is looking for ways to reduce stress in their lives and wantsto learn how to live in the moment. After my first YES+ course, I came out a lot more sorted and more atpeace with what’s present. I am not constantly worrying about what’s ahead. I have made some reallystrong friendships, had the opportunity to hear so many different stories and learned so much aboutmyself along the way. YES+ is a unique experience for every individual and you take back however muchyou give in. I have completed the course four times, each time returning to see how much further I canmove towards a calmer mind, a more balanced outlook, and most definitely, a larger lung capacity!-Namita

For more information on a YES+ course happening in your city you can log on to http://us.yesplus.org

© Udantya 2011

THE ARMCHAIR CRITIC2011 Oscar Nominated Animated

Shorts

The Oscars are this Sunday, so we thought wewould give you the inside scoop on the animatedshorts. Every year, the Academy of MotionPicture Arts and Sciences screens the Oscarnominated short films for one day only, incertain theaters nationwide. I am eternallygrateful for the Sundance theater being inMadison as I have seen many wonderful filmsthere. On that particular Friday night, myselection was the animated shorts. The criteriawas somewhat fluid. I think I was in the mood tobe purely entertained and the animated shortshad a convenient screening time.

As much as I love films, Ihave to admit, I haven’tseen very many short films.It is my unqualified andobvious opinion that thechallenge of making a shortfilm is to be able to tell acomplete story well.Moreover, a good shortfilm is one where theaudience is left unaware of

the time that has passed and is surprised by theintricacy of the story being told. And, as with allgood films, the audience is left wanting more.

The animated shorts were a mixed bag. Wewatched seven films in total; five that made thecut and two honorable mentions. Quite frankly, Ithought the two honorable mentions were a fewnotches above some that were nominated. Thefirst, with a hilariously self-explanatory title,was, ‘A Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger’(USA). It was a heartbreaking yet charming taleof a little calf who ismesmerized by the billboard of a local meatprocessing unit which shows a buff cow next to ajuicy burger. All the little calf wants, is to growup, beef up and well, be a hamburger. Even theend credits were entertaining, with each creator’sgastronomic proclivities mentioned inparentheses.

The second honorable mention was ‘Urs’, fromGermany. It is the story of a young farmer whosefarm has been destroyed by drought and hislivestock diminished by famine. With all thestrength left within him, he sets upon atreacherous journey to a new land of hope, withthe one person who means the most to him; hisaged mother. The mood of the animation waswonderful and mirrored the moods of thecharacters. The film had no dialogue, further

© Udantya 2011

emphasizing the animation to convey the sorrow,despair, strength and hope of the twoprotagonists.

One of the criteria I mentioned before, the tellingof a complete story, is severely lacking in theFrench venture ‘Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage’.The film, set in Madagascar, follows a facelesshero through Madagascar as he delves deep intotheir culture and traditions. The narrationmeanders and lurches forward abruptly, nodoubt aiming to lead up to a thought provokingend. The problem was that we were about 2minutes into the 11 minute film, which wasscreened first and my attention had left thetheater and wandered away. The animation wasat times jarring, chaotic and jerky. The film didhave one point of note. The animation is stylizedlike a travelogue and a scrapbook that has comealive. Some of the pictures from the scrapbooklook immensely life like and the closing creditsshow the originals, taken no doubt inMadagascar. It is clear that the filmmaker waslooking to tell an intimate tale of perhaps aspiritual awakening, but he misses the mark.

‘Let’s Pollute!’ from the US, is a satirical publicservice announcement with the voice over guyfrom the 50s. This is the queen of all tricks ofreverse psychology. ‘Voice-over’ guy’sencouraging entreaties to pollute better and

bigger gave me pause. I certainly hope themessage gets through to many more viewers.

‘The Lost Thing’ (Aus/UK) is a heartwarmingstory of a young man who finds ananthropomorphic ‘thing’ on the beach. The storyis set in a bleak futuristic world where the ‘thing’with its blithe spirit is somewhat of an anomalyand indeed lost. The film focuses on the youngman, whose quest to restore the thing to itsproper home is met with indifference. The ‘thing’sends a gentle ripple of tumult into the highlyordered life of the young man and his spirits arelifted as a result. I have to admit though Ithought I saw a few metaphors (I won’t go into itsince this would make its own review!), I may belacking in comparison to thorough film buffs. Iencourage you to watch the film and identify yourown themes and metaphors.

For those of you who watched Toy Story 3 thisyear, you will remember a cute film from Pixar atthe very beginning. ‘Day and Night‘ (USA), meetand are completely befuddled by each other. Theanimation is innovative and the storyentertaining. It’s hard to explain all the quirksand the intricacies of the film and at the risk ofrepeating myself, go check it out! Also, since thefilm made it to the Oscars, I am making a mentalnote to keep an eye out for more of Pixar’sintroductory shorts in the future.

© Udantya 2011

We are at the very end and I saved my favorite forthe last. ‘The Gruffalo ‘(UK) is a sweet little storyabout a a clever mouse journeying through theforest in search of some lunch. The film is basedupon a popular children’s book of the same nameby Julia Donaldson. To ward off the threecreatures of prey that he meets along the way, themouse tells them that he is on his way to meet aGruffalo; a giant, imposing animal, whosefavorite foods are foxes, owls and snakes. But ofcourse, the clever little mouse chuckles tohimself, ‘there is no such thing as a Gruffalo’; oris there?

The animation was very well done, though Iadmit, not novel. The film boasts some famousvoices such as Helena Bonham Carter and TomWilkinson. What really got my attention was themusic by Rene Aubry. For a children’s film it wasincredibly evocative and poignant. The music iswhat drew me into the film and the story. It hadme mesmerized. I have included my favoritepiece from the film, ‘The Mouse’ in Jam Session.

And there you have it! In appreciation of yoursticking around to read my maiden venture, Ihave decided to be your Google slave.

Here are links to trailers and clips from theanimated shorts as well as the live action anddocumentary shorts. You’re very welcome!

Oscar Shorts Homepage

A Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger: Trailer

Urs: Trailer

[And now an aside. The Simpsons episode thispast Sunday (Season 22, Ep 14, 'Angry Dad- TheMovie') parodied the animated shorts categorywith tragic accuracy!]

-Aparna

© Udantya 2011

JAM SESSION

Bon BonbonValentine’s day and chocolate are almost synonymous. Quite frankly, I think chocolate ought to be

synonymous with a lot more occasions. Thus, in the spirit of spreading chocolate-y goodness all throughthe year, here is an interesting online chocolate store.

Chocomize (http://www.chocomize.com/) is a unique chocolate shop, where you become the chocolatier.You begin with dark, milk or white Belgian chocolate as your canvas and choose from an eclectic group ofspices, nuts, fruits and candy to mix in. When I say eclectic, I am not exaggerating; think paprika, potato

chips and bacon! And here’s the kicker; 23 karat gold flakes!

Many of the flavors of Chocomize are reminiscent of the new wave of artisan chocolates but the endproduct is entirely in your control. If you don’t like fancy, it doesn’t have to be. If you can’t think of a

unique combination, the folks at Chocomize have suggestions for you and will even build you their owncustom bar. However, for certain epicurean adventurers this could become a very fun play ground.

The price is right for a product that is so personalized. Bars start at $3.95 and most add ins are $0.65 to$0.95.

And for those of you who are curious, here’s my somewhat puritan creation. Dark chocolate, groundcoffee, cardamom and sliced almonds!

-Aparna

© Udantya 2011

Poetic Justice

The rain is silent,It just sits on my window pane and sometimes

slips awayIts scent lurks the musky room where the

creases of the sheet still layThe impressions of our bodies turned away from

each other still stayThe pages of my half read book flutter in the

thundering windsThe wax from the burnt candle chips away and

crumbles by my toesA cup of coffee, dark and strong

Oblivious to the orchestra of birds outsideToday no conversations fill my mind

Only the silence of the rain.

End of DaysIn the beginning,

Chaos so beautifulThe world is painted

Everything untainted.In the end,

Chaos so cruelThe world is paintedEverything tainted.

Beat Box

‘The Mouse’, composed by Rene Aubry. From thesoundtrack of ‘'The Gruffalo’