Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pics/Nimesh Dave

Dogged efforts
A canine spars playfully with his little companion at Madh Island over the weekend.

Gallop to glory

Mumbai-based brothers Kaevaan and Zahan Setalvad have bagged gold and silver respectively in the 150 cm Grand Prix at the National Equestrian Championship, Delhi. With these wins, the duo, who were representing Mumbai and the Amateur Riders Club, are both now two-time national show-jumping champions. "It has been a difficult year, both for us and the horses. As with any sport, you get better only with practice. While the lockdown affected our riding practice, the subsequent and extended monsoon also affected our ability to ride," Kaevaan told this diarist. His brother Zahan pointed out that the two-day travel to Delhi adversely affected the condition of the horses. The competitions are held on consecutive days, which made it quite hectic. Riyhad Kundanmal, secretary of the Amateur Riders Club, said that this being the only official 150 cm show in the country, winning a medal in this championship is especially prestigious. The brothers have now trained their sights on other shows around the country and, eventually, the Asian Games 2022 qualifiers. We wish them luck!

Reel impact

Three years after its release, Evening Shadows will kick-start London Indian Film Festival's 2021 series of screenings, marking LGBT+ History Month. The film is hailed for its sensitive portrayal of a young man coming out to his mother, and was directed by filmmaker and gay rights activist Sridhar Rangayan. "This is further encouragement for parents to embrace their kids without discrimination," he says. We agree.

This is music to our ears

We've just learnt that Furtados School of Music (FSM) has recently announced its partnership with Berklee College of Music in Abu Dhabi. Also on the cards is a $5,000 scholarship, being offered to students of image designing, song-writing, music production, music monetisation, and marketing and distribution strategies. "We have been an affiliate partner of Berklee for three years now. We zeroed in on the Abu Dhabi location, instead of Boston, owing to its proximity. With this programme, we hope to empower budding music professionals to produce and sell their own music projects," Tanuja Gomes, its co-founder, told this diarist. Students aged 15 years and above can apply for the scholarship on furtados schoolofmusic.com.

Our man Atul Kamble shines at Wisden again!

What does it take to make it to the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack? A significant batting/bowling/fielding performance or being part of a major team's playing XI. You also get into cricket's Bible when you use all your craft to shoot a brilliant photograph and send it to the publishers based in the UK. That's what Mid-day's principal photographer Atul Kamble did, and his image of a casual game of cricket at Juhu beach in October 2020, will appear in the 2021 edition of Wisden.

Kamble's image of Sachin Tendulkar emerging from the Wankhede Stadium dressing room for his final Test innings in 2013, was adjudged the Wisden-MCC Cricket Photograph of the Year and duly made it to Wisden 2014 (the first colour picture used in the photo section of the edition). Our man has played a rasping cover drive again. We can't help but stand to applaud.