14 January,2022 07:17 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Bipin Kokate
Three young advocates take a photo beside a gavel installation by artist Tushar Sawant close to the Bombay High Court in Fort
An impromptu music performance at a previous edition of the festival
As the city gears up to fight the third wave, this diarist has lost track of on-ground festivals that would have allowed people to soak in the cultural highs that usually take over the city this time of the year. Brinda Miller, director at Kala Ghoda Association shares that this year's edition of the festival has been postponed indefinitely for now. "At the moment, we don't want to set a date. None of us can predict the future. It is a festival that city-based people would want to visit; we do not want to risk their well-being," she confirmed with us, adding that they will continue to present some of the special events online, but only as a tasting session to the more elaborate physical festival.
Children solve Rubik's cubes
In 2019, School Innovate, a Tamil Nadu-based platform that promotes people who solve Rubik's cubes, had entered the Asia Book of Records for having the maximum number of contributors for a mosaic made from Rubik's cubes, when they got 364 students on board to create a mosaic of Mahatma Gandhi using the toy. Now, they have set out to attempt another record, this one for the most number of people solving a Rubik's cube simultaneously on a digital platform. They are calling for participants from across the country to take part in the attempt, regardless of whether they are novices or not. "We have organised a number of online competitions in the past, but this is the first time that we are attempting this particular record," shared Mariammal M, co-founder of School Innovate. Those interested in taking part can register at schoolinnovate.in.
Muse Foundation is an NGO that has embarked on a mission to rid Thane of the scourge of manual scavenging. They have launched a campaign called #ClickTheTruth, where they are asking citizens to take photos of any manual scavenging activities they come across. "We had filed an RTI application in this regard in September last year, the reply to which implied that the Thane Municipal Commission doesn't employ any manual scavengers at all. But that is a dubious claim because as an NGO, we have been advocating that compensation be paid to the families of three people who died while doing the job," shared Shreyas Pande from Muse Foundation, adding that the photos from the campaign will be compiled as evidence that will be submitted to the municipal commissioner.
Kagaz Ulam Unmad is a city-based, student-led initiative that promotes writing in all its forms. They have announced a poetry and creative writing competition, for which they are calling for entries. These can be in any form, be it short stories, open letters, poems or even non-fiction articles. "We have a jury of professors and poets who will decide the winners," shared Aman Raj, the initiative's founder. Visit @kagaz.kalam.unmad if you, too, want to showcase your writing chops.
The recent passing away of Kathak dancer Pandit Munna Shukla, the grandson of Pandit Achchan Maharaj and nephew of Pandit Birju Maharaj, has left a gaping hole in the Lucknow gharana of the art form. Manjari Chaturvedi (inset), Kathak practitioner from the Lucknow gharana of Kathak Kendra, recalls his contribution, "His passing away is a huge loss. Although I haven't learnt from him directly, but I have seen him teach, practise and perform for so many years.
I know many of his students. It makes me sad that the passing away of such stalwarts brings the guru-shishya parampara to an end; something the present transition generation wouldn't know." She goes on to add that online versions of learning an art bring her thoughts to perspective. "People like him have set examples. They have given their lives to Kathak. The younger generations perform the art, but the veterans lived it," Chaturvedi adds.
