The five-day exhibition will start on May 20. Says Patki, who has been painting for the past 20 years, ``I try to use non-traditional media to express traditional themes. I like to experiment with subjects. We believe that a good painting cannot be copied or reproduced.''

Kelkar, dean, SNDT, faculty of fine arts, has been involved in the field for the past 40 years and has exhibited several of his paintings and murals in India and abroad.

Debut drills
Holding an art exhibition is no easy task for an upcoming artist. It is no longer just a question of putting away one's paints to book space in an art gallery. ``It also means having to contend with nitty-gritties like press publicity, marketing the show, getting properly-worded invitations printed and distributed and also inviting an appropriate guest for the inauguration ceremony,'' says artist Rajeev Agashe. His group, Rangetram, has been involved in holding workshops that aim at providing information to promising artists on just this topic.

Agashe's group of 11 amateur artists, all of them residents of the Pimpri-Chinchwad area, will be exhibiting their work for the first time at the Balgandharva Kaladalan from May 26 to 28. On display will be a variety of artistic expressions in oil paints, water colours, ink and pen sketches, paper collages. The name `Rangetram' has also been chosen for a specific reason. Says Agashe, ``The first public performance in dance is through an arangetram. In this instance, here was a group of individuals making their debut at this exhibition, so we thought up the name `Rangetram.' ''

Time to remember
The forts of Maharashtra stand sentinel to a rich historic past. One of those figures who helped bring this past into present focus through his writings was writer G.N. Dandekar, who passed away in June last year. Noted historians and history buffs, among them Babasaheb Purandare, Ninad Bedekar, P.K. Ghanekar, have made an appeal to the State Government to commemorate Dandekar's death anniversary, which falls on June 1, as Durga Din or Fort Day.

Says historian Bedekar, ``G.N. Dandekar, who was an avid trekker and visited these forts, created an awareness about their historic importance. It would, therefore, only be fitting to declare his death anniversary as Durga Din.

"Maharashtra is a land of forts but their historic importance has been largely neglected. People need to be made aware of their heritage.'' He hopes that their appeal will be a step in that direction.