Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Freewheelin' in glee

A mother-daughter duo cycles in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivali

He has you at hello

Purshottam Premji with his rainbow chequered Bhujodi saree at Design Craft

It's likely that if Purshottam Premji were to enter a soiree, he'd be the life of the party. At this month's Design Craft exhibit presented by the elegant Amrita Somaiya and conceived by Somaiya Kala Vidya, Premji, an artisan designer-weaver who had arrived from Bhujodi village of Kutch, got a taste of Mumbai traffic when his entry was delayed by over an hour. When he did make it, he slipped out of his floaters to say a quick prayer, and then it was time for vaatcheet as the Gujaratis say. Premji's corner at Peddar Road's JB Hall was the most vibrant. His collection, he said animatedly, was inspired by the fast-disappearing snake charmer community, and especially, the dramatic thread plume their paghadis (turbans) sport. The colours this season, he told this diarist while running his hand over a rainbow chequered Bhujodi saree, took a leaf out of the happy disposition the tribe exhibits despite pursuing an occupation fraught with fear and danger. Premji narrated the legend of two veteran snake charmers - who followed a shape-shifting cobra that manifested into multiple avatars, including a princess's gold necklace - with the zeal of a born artiste. Artisans like Premji are realising the charm of a piece of clothing with a story at its heart. Market orientation and design intervention programmes held for Bhujodi's weavers are making them bolder in their colour choices, and freer to ponder over how traditional motifs like the Popati and Panchko can be interpreted for a competitive market like Mumbai. In the rare scenario that a design doesn't grab your fancy, Premji's stories will.

India's voice in Bangkok

Trangender Masterclass 2022, the first Asia-Pacific health session to exchange knowledge and best practices in trans competent care, aims to take stock of and learn from the progress trans communities from the region have made so far. Abhina Aher, the transgender activist who founded equity and empowerment trust, Tweet Foundation, Mumbai, is the plenary speaker at the Bangkok convention. She shared about her masterclass, "India has crossed many milestones after fighting its share of hurdles. I have tried to discuss these events by connecting them to history and evolution. In ancient India, sexual minorities were worshipped. Our language and literature have embodied the third gender or tritiya prakriti as kinnars. It's only after India was invaded that sexual minorities were otherised. Since then, we have come a long way." Work, she reiterated, continues until India's intersex movement becomes visible, adding, "Equity in terms of civil rights, the science of trans transitioning health and meaningful engagement with the community should also be focused on."

Celebrating the mini milestones

Kartikeya Ratan at IHM, Mumbai

Life came full circle for chef Kartikeya Ratan, co-founder of delivery kitchen Kiki and Pastor, when she visited her alma mater, Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), Mumbai, on International Chef Day. "The event was organised by the institute for their former students. There were chefs from the 1990 batch to 2011 batch. We were felicitated for the contribution we have made to the food industry. But the interesting bit was interacting with present students and taking them beyond the idea of five-stars. I spoke to them about running a delivery kitchen and the need for media skills," she told this diarist. The institute also launched its book titled Millets: Food for the Future.

Mumbai stands up for Nagpur's dogs

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court recently passed a slew of directives regarding the feeding of stray dogs in Nagpur. It directed the police to strictly act against feeders who come in their way. Mumbai's animal activists will be gathering at Dadar's Rajabadi Gate, Shivaji Park, on Sunday to show their silent solidarity. Abodh Aras, founder, Welfare of Stray Dogs, commented, "The directives fail to take into account that community feeders make street dogs accessible for sterilisation and vaccination. Both processes help keep the stray population under check and control the spread of rabies."

Pursuing a few suburban truths

The launch of Professor Sujata Patel, Dr D Parthasarathy and George Jose's title, Mumbai/Bombay: Majoritarian Neoliberalism, Informality, Resistance and Wellbeing (Routledge, 2022), at Kala Ghoda last week brought to light a unique aspect of Mumbai. A city that has been part of the Indian story since pre-Independence, Dr Parthasarathy explained that its current evolution is the result of several factors including majoritarianism. "The history of changes in housing, rentals, education has been shaping itself over the last 50 years. These were facilitated by two kinds of majoritarianism - religious and linguistic," he said. What might seem like development for the common man, is not always so. Pointing at the closing down of textile mills, Dr Parthasarathy (in pic) said that those rundown mills once played a significant part in the city and provided large housing for the working class. "The book also examines the redistribution of the working class across and outside the city," he noted, adding that there is also a chapter on gendered impacts caused when households were forced to move out to other parts of the city. The key to the future, Dr Parthasarathy mentioned, was in our ability to change to address the aspirations of Mumbaikars. We shall read and find out.