28 March,2022 07:45 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
A passenger arrives at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport with his dog perched on a trolley bag.
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The fourth edition of a cultural bonhomie that celebrates 75 years of Indian Independence and 75 years of diplomatic relations between France and the country is back. Bonjour India, an artistic event hosted by the French cooperation network in India, will host various cultural events across the country, including in Mumbai, with an upcoming show scheduled at G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture. The show is titled S Thala, an Indian Suite. Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, Counselor for Science, Education and Culture, Embassy of France in India, said, "We will be inviting writers, dancers, musicians, actors and creators to add new pages to the already rich history of our cultural encounters. Indian and French artistes will collaborate for residencies and shows. France and India are linked by a close partnership, and at its core, are the people-to-people relationships. Our countries grew closer by appreciating each other's heritage and creating art. With 120 events in 19 cities, the event is a gift of France to the people of India."
Chennai-based children's publisher Tulika Books has won the Children's and Young Adult Publisher Award at the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards 2022. Senior editor Deeya Nayar (inset) told us, "Winning in the inaugural year of this category is a validation. Despite completing 25 years in the industry, we don't think of awards. We wanted to tell stories about varied childhoods and for all kinds of readers." Nayar adds that with them, it's never been about âthe most selling' books and instead, they focus on multilingual stories that are not mainstream and urban, and most titles reach children in villages.
An interesting board book with rhythmic text, Rumble Tumble Love In The Jungle, is just out. It's a collection of photographs by Vineeta Kanoria and Urvi Piramal, with words by Lubaina Bandukwala and illustrations by Devangana Dash. "It's a book that a mum, dad or a sibling can read out to a child while introducing them to the wonderful pictures. At this age, children search for a certain musicality in words, and I have tried to deliver that," Bandukwala told this diarist. Kanoria shared, "Urvi and I have been visiting India's jungles for the past 35 years. Jungles are a magical place; similarities between humans and the animal kingdom - their friends, families and social ties - should be pointed out."
Ahmedabad-based photographer and visual artiste Parmanand Dalwadi's Photo Exhibition on Paris will open at NCPA's Piramal Art Gallery tomorrow. The display that will be up till April 10 aims to take viewers back to the 1970s when Dalwadi was exploring an unfamiliar city on foot. "The exhibition will display nearly 200 pictures from my collection. I was travelling with my mentor, Henri Cartier Bresson, and a major chunk of my vast repetoire is inspired by his school of thought," Dalwadi reminisced.
Joy of Urdu, a volunteer-run, bilingual organisation that promotes Urdu language and literature, closed the last session of its weekly reading and learning interactive meet-ups titled Dr Arfa Sayeda aur Zarminae Ansari ki Himaqatein yesterday. The session welcomed renowned educationist Dr Arfa Sayeda and actor, poet and theatre director Danish Husain as they spoke about the art and history of Dastangoi and performed a live reading. About the art form, Husain told us, "Dastangoi is a unique art form that marries literature with performative art." Founder and director Zarminae Ansari told this diarist that the organisation makes learning Urdu accessible across the globe through bilingual content and resources in the form of short videos and reading groups. Portugal-based Ansari mentioned, "The script is not difficult to read. It is just that we aren't exposed to it." Catch the recordings of the entire edition on Joy of Urdu at facebook.com/joyofurdu.