Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Mirror, mirror on the bus

Passengers wait in line to board a bus in the middle of a bustling market in Dadar West.

Chapter 1: The good reader

Nitin Goel and Nandini Swaminathan

March comes with a book full of milestones for reading community Project Bibliotherapy. The community is kicking off its third Readathon of the year, where subscribers will receive one good title to read for the fourteen days at 6.42 am. They are celebrating their fourth anniversary and launching their global membership programme, Readers of 42. "Our flagship offering under this programme is four volumes of our ‘42 Good Reads of the Internet' zine. Each volume is a collection of 42 different pieces of writing by 42 different authors, personally handpicked by both of us. It also has a small journaling prompt at the end for you to do," revealed co-founders, Nitin Goel and Nandini Swaminathan. As for the community's birthday, they will host exciting events in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Log on to bibliotherapy.stck.me to learn more.

Sahil's clay time

City-based comedian Sahil Shah has his eyes set on a new medium to channelise his quirky, off-beat thoughts. Shah recently took to Instagram to share his clay creations from a session at Khar's Mitti Space last week. "I was introduced to pottery by a friend in 2022 and it was one of the most calming experiences. I'm now looking to get back to it," he shared. The comedian's first creations are a coiled planter and a retro radio made using the slab building technique. "I wanted my designs to have functional value, and so the radio doubled as an agarbatti stand. It made the perfect gift for my mother," he added. The 29-year-old revealed to this diarist that he has already signed up for an advanced course at the space. "Today, there are a few hobbies that offer an escape from digital addiction. When there's clay on my hands, it becomes physically impossible for me to check my phone," he chuckled.

Moving with Mumbai

Ingrouille at an exhibition in BKC

Just before Olivier-nominee Carrie-Anne Ingrouille's two-month sojourn in Mumbai comes to an end, the England-based choreographer gave this diarist a playback of her favourite moments. "I have attended many theatre performances, dance and music shows during my stay," she revealed. Flown in by theatre and arts management company QTP for her first-ever workshop in the country that begins tomorrow at an Andheri venue, Ingrouille made the most of her time to study the different art forms the city offers. "I attended the Spoken Fest, a Bharatnayam dance festival, and even Palash Sen's concert," she shared, "While I didn't try the street food, I ate homemade local food like paneer bhurji, dal khichadi, dosa and idli." The celebrated artiste will leave soon after her workshop ends, but not before revisiting some of her favourite locations. "I want to spend more time at Gateway of India, Lonavala and Mahabaleshwar," she revealed. And of all places in the city, she has the fondest memories strolling along Versova Beach. "It is such a lovely place to eat and socialise whilst watching the sunset!" she concluded.

Carrie-Anne Ingrouille feeds a stray at Versova Beach. Pics Courtesy/Tapesh Sharma

Heal with sound

(Left) Sound healing artiste Aparna Sundar and (right) Dhrupad vocalist Shilpa Shanker Narain perform together at the workshop

Last weekend, Dhrupad vocalist Shilpa Shanker Narain and sound healing therapist Aparna Sundar delivered a houseful concert that followed two-days of an immersive workshop in Dadar. The aim was to revisit the original meaning of music. "Classical music is not just about getting tickets to a show by a famous artiste. As sound healing emerges as a trend, people are now beginning to see other advantages of classical music," shared Narain, explaining that the first-ever edition of Taran-Tārini, their two-day programme, aimed at exploring the true intent of creating music - to heal. "The idea was to show how the human voice can be used as a healing mechanism."

Viva España

File pic

Viveick Rajagopalan is a busy man. In the midst of his schedule of recordings and musical projects, the founder of Ta Dhom Project received an invite to the WOMAD (Word of Music and Dance) festival in May. "The Ta Dhom Project will be part of the festival for the first time since the pandemic," shared Rajagopalan (left). The festival, established in 1980 by British singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, is known for encouraging independent music acts. "It is a prestigious event on the calendar. We missed it in 2021 because of the Ukraine conflict, and hope to make up for it," he said.