Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

In good books

A group of daily wage labourers atop a truck glance at the statue of a student at a Goregaon traffic signal on Saturday.

A reel throwback

Miss Frontier Mail. Pic Courtesy/Prinseps

From Miss Frontier Mail and Diamond Queen featuring Australian stunt woman Mary Ann Evans or ‘Fearless Nadia', to iconic feature films like Mela, and Saaz aur Sanam, original vintage movie posters from the Wadia Movietone production house are set to go under the hammer at an auction by Prinseps on November 16. It will bring together items from the estate of Riyad Wadia, heir to the production house established by brothers JBH Wadia and Homi Wadia in 1933. The 150-plus lot auction offers a glimpse into the history of Indian filmmaking, and includes original posters and artworks. "The beauty of the Miss Frontier Mail poster is that it is an original poster artwork from 1936. It is rare for an original piece of art to survive the poster-making process, and hence this is an exceptional part of film and print-making history. Further, Miss Frontier Mail was one of Nadia's greatest successes and proved to be a favourite subject for the Wadia brothers. The bright yellow background, a cornucopia of text fonts along with a radiating picture of Nadia, make this piece a striking work of art," revealed Brijeshwari Kumari Gohil, vice-president and curator at Prinseps.

Following my painter friend

Some friendships live on in their own mysterious ways. Take for instance, artists and friends the late Mehlli Gobhai and Sheetal Gattani. In July, Chemould Prescott Road reopened its doors with Mehlli Gobhai: Epiphanies, drawing on his life in New York and Mumbai. Following her best friend, 53-year-old Gattani is set to showcase her own works at the Fort gallery. Titled New Canvases, the exhibition of Gattani's large canvases opens on October 14. "It wasn't planned this way. When Shireen [Gandhy; creative director] approached me, I wasn't going to be ready with my works till September. And, she had planned Mehlli [his exhibition] for earlier this year. But the second lockdown happened, and Mehlli's show was pushed back… and there I was, following Mehlli like I would have liked to," Gattani shared, wishing that he was around for the opening, offering her his suggestions.

Women who dream, and do

(From left) Almas Virani; Sweta Samota

How did Cassandra Mendonsa Nazareth, an activist from Mumbai, help the tribal community of Naushacha pada in Aarey get electricity after 72 years? What prompted Chandana Hiran, a feminist and a CA finalist, also from the city, to start a petition asking the erstwhile brand Fair and Lovely to be more inclusive, or IT professional Jincy Varghese to help make six-month maternity leave a reality? The stories of 11 such women, whose petitions on Change.org stirred a social transformation, will be brought to life in the title Changemakers (Crossword Bookstores), authored by Almas Virani and Sweta Samota, with a foreword by actor Taapsee Pannu. It launches on October 19. Both writers are also changemakers who are part of the website's She Creates Change Program. "We wanted to spread the message that anybody can be a changemaker. The book isn't just about their petitions and campaigns, but also their journey and how a changemaker was born in them," Virani shared.

Back to CSMVS

After a long hiatus due to the pandemic, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) is all set to reopen its doors to the public on October 18. "We had opened up briefly in February, but that didn't last long. We've truly been shut since the pandemic began, so we're looking forward to opening up and welcoming visitors," said Joyoti Roy, head of strategy and marketing. For the past year, while it was shuttered, the museum focused on conservation work and took several operations online. "For the reopening, we've taken measures like getting rid of touch-screen set-ups, and installing sanitisers everywhere. Each gallery allows only 20 to 25 visitors. Ticket prices have been reduced. Although it's summer, there'll be an increased focus on bringing activities into the open areas of the premises," Roy added.

Along the Sindh

Veditum, a not-for-profit enterprise that works on the intersections of environment, culture and society, is inviting applications for a two-week long research fellowship called Moving Upstream: Sindh. It will focus on a walk along the river Sindh in central India. "We do a prep for the fellows so they learn more about the river. Not all of the selected people might have the knowledge of these things. We bring them up to speed about environmental issues," said founder Siddharth Agarwal.