Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Aishwarya Deodhar

Unique horn

A horse is decked up with two pinwheels on its head at Dadar Chowpatty.

Namaskar SpongeBob

The artwork of Bikini Bottom by the studio. Pic Courtesy/@doodlemapuls

Who lives in a pineapple under the... Arabian Sea? It's not who you think it is. It's art studio Doodle Mapuls' desi version of SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends in Bikini Bottom. Although the trippy colourful artwork was created some time ago, the studio decided to reveal it, coincidentally close to the yellow guy's birthday earlier this month. Of the trio who make up the Navi Mumbai-based studio, Kirthi Pillai (inset), took us through the desi version of the cartoon. She explained, "We wanted to reconnect with old cartoons and give them an Indian twist. This art piece has SpongeBob in a veshti, Mr Krabs in a baniyan vest, and Sandy in a skirt and dupatta. Even the Krusty Krab food joint [where SpongeBob works as a chef] has a ‘nazar na lage' display." The artwork took three days from initial conceptualisation to final execution, where co-founders Amal Nair began with a sketch, Pillai filled in the details, and Yash Shetty completed colouring the piece. The next cartoons on their drawing pad are The Flintstones and Johnny Bravo. "We're planning to put out these pieces as an artist colouring book. There will also be more elements to the book like watercolouring pages, and blank space for artists to sketch on," Pillai signed off.

The write solution

The upcoming Festival of Libraries, hosted by the Union Ministry of Culture, starting August 5, will collect a group of dedicated literature lovers in New Delhi. The festival seeks to bring together a think tank to not only revive the reading culture, but also plan writing residencies, revealed Mumbai-based writer Rochelle Potkar (below). She is among the panellists scheduled to present a talk on the second day. "I am a faculty member for University of Iowa's summer residency programme and will speak on our residency experience and ways to inculcate it in India. But I hope that it goes beyond that, and enables the founding of new writing retreats," she revealed. As for Mumbai writers, Potkar observed, "It is always a problem of space in the city. Without access to affordable spaces, it will prove to be a challenge."

A burger done well in Stuttgart

(From left) Reema Maya on the set of the film; a moment from the film featuring Shrikant Yadav and Trupti Khamkar

In January, this newspaper wrote about city-based filmmaker Reema Maya's short film, Nocturnal Burger, heading out to the Sundance Film Festival, Utah. The film has now won the grand jury prize of German Star of India at the Stuttgart Indian Film Festival last week. "We are thrilled, and it is an absolute honour for our film to be celebrated at the festival," shared the filmmaker. Describing the jury reaction as moving, she noted, "It feels surreal to have your work celebrated by people you have never even met. It is interesting that they picked up on every detail of what we were trying to create in the film." Maya further revealed that they were appreciative of the film's approach in tackling the sensitive issue of child abuse. "Their statement that the film's bravery lies in its trust in the audience's ability to think and draw their conclusions was vindication for us. Trusting our audience with being an active participant was a conscious choice that we made right from the beginning of the process," she shared. Maya revealed that the film is now qualified for an application to the Academy Awards, and the team is working towards it.

Science on-the-go

Students queue up for the exhibition

The Nehru Science Centre is literally ‘taking' science across the state. Two buses, loaded with 20 science exhibits and science films, are touring across Maharashtra to provide an interactive experience to school students in the rural areas. Right now, these buses are travelling around Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. School children in these districts will get to experience the exhibits designed specifically to present science in a fun and experimental manner. These demonstrations have been thoughtfully picked to stimulate their minds and to cultivate a scientific temperament. "The buses are usually parked in one school campus for two to three days and then they are moved to another school. Students from schools in the nearby areas are also invited to participate. This way, the Mobile Science Exhibition will cover around 80 to 85 schools in two parts after which the buses will return to Mumbai," Umesh Kumar, director, told this diarist. The touring will continue for three months till October with the hope that the exhibitions will spark curiosity.