Mumbai Diary: Friday frolics

Short and sweet success
Pocket Films and Manhattan Shorts India awarded the winners (Devashish Makhija for Ela'yichi, left) at the Matterden Short 2015 that was held last evening at Matterden, Lower Parel.

Film director Sudhir Mishra (right) handed over a citation to each of the winning directors of short films. The event was well attended by members of the short film industry as well as cine buffs.

Bapu's long shadow over Kalina
Gandhiji may be synonymous with padyatras but here, in contemporary times, it is a runyatra. The Kalina Mini Marathon is to be held this morning, from 6 am to 9 am for Gandhi Jayanti. It is a 10-km run, with the start and end point at Air India Sports Club, Kalina.

Children dressed as Mahatma Gandhi for a contest at a Foundation School, Bhopal. From Madhya Pradesh to Mumbai, the Gandhi spirit moves one and all. Pic/PTI

Says Nilotpal Mrinal, trustee, Nanhi Goonj Vikas Foundation, "This mini marathon has been organised on the same principles laid down by Bapuji. I have specifically chosen Gandhi Jayanti as a mark of respect to the father and a reminder of his ideologies.

‘Bapuji', as we fondly call him, took this small step alone and what followed is history. He walked, but his simple walk was a run towards ‘Independence'. He walked, we will run and the next generation will sprint." There are shorter distances like the 5-km run for children.

This debut mini marathon in Kalina comes at a time when the running season is at take-off point. The unforgiving temperatures will be a deterrent but like all distance runners, you know that if you have trained adequately, in all terrain and weather, the finish line is the tape you can sail through. Meanwhile, with the city marking Gandhi Jayanti in different ways, here is one with soul, or should it read, sole?

Screen time with Sooni
It was an evening that did justice to the title of the exhibition, Kids in Focus. Initiated by Iyanah Bativala, with support from the Tata group, the Salaam Balak Trust's exhibition is an ideal platform for young, aspiring photographers.

Sooni Taraporevala (right) with one of the kids from Salaam Balak Trust at the Kids in Focus exhibition, at Max Mueller Bhavan. Pic/Atul Kamble

Screenwriter, photographer and Iyanah's mother, Sooni Taraporevala dropped in at the opening last evening. The exhibition will showcase over 80 frames taken by children who have experimented with the medium of photography and through it, explored and documented their unique worlds and lives.

Sonia is back!
Fans of highly-acclaimed writer Sonia Faleiro can expect another book from her, provisionally scheduled for a 2018 release.

Blood on the Leaves: Crime and Punishment in Modern India, to be published by Penguin Random House will be the first book examining rape in India and the revolution the country is currently experiencing around sexual violence.

Written in her inimitable style, packed with solid research and backed by individual stories, it is bound to offer insight into societal issues, and make for an engaging portrait of crime and punishment in modern-day India.