Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Suresh Karkera

Matching steps

Two policemen walk in tandem in front of a poster to celebrate Marathi Bhasha Din (February 27), at Nariman Point on Friday

Chai for a cause

Chai for Cancer is a fund-raising initiative that Viji Venkatesh, who runs a non-profit called The Max Foundation, initiated eight years ago. Before the pandemic, it held addas at people's homes where they would invite friends and family, who would donate whatever they could for every cup of chai they had. The last one they held was two years ago, at designer Deepa Mehta's saree-making workshop at Sion. But these offline activities came to a stop due to the pandemic, and Venkatesh has now started online initiatives to keep the conversation going. One is called Chaifie, where people take a selfie with a raised cup of chai and post it on social media to raise awareness. They can also contribute in other ways, such as a special Chai for Cancer-themed saree (in pic) that Mehta created for Venkatesh, who told this diarist, "We are asking people to raise funds in different ways. For instance, there is a hotel in Goregaon that encouraged their colleagues to donate '15,000 for us."

Nature in focus

The ongoing climate crisis is the focus of a series that Goethe Institut Mumbai has started, called State of Nature. It brings together multiple perspectives on ecological issues, presented through a cultural lens. There is an exhibition on display at their gallery, for example, titled New Natures: A Terrible Beauty is Born. There is also a series of talks planned that Ranjit Hoskote has curated, which features poets, writers and activists. "Leading German institutions across the world have dedicated projects that collect the voices of artists and intellectuals [with regard to climate change], and the activities in Mumbai are in response to that," shared Goethe Institut director Bjoern Ketels.

Culture cool

It was in November last year that this paper had first reported that G5A, the cultural centre in Mahalaxmi, had planned to open a store within its premises, which would cater to the needs of creative folk. That store has now finally seen the light of day, after being set up in the study area that the space houses. The products there focus not on fast fashion, but on ethical and long-lasting material. They have been designed by G5A founder Anuradha Parikh and associate artistic director Ishan Benegal. "The first collection of the store, titled Good Start, focuses on tools for artists, with a wide range of products like T-shirts, toolkits, aprons, and jackets," Parikh said.

Winning work

The work that Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, director of Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Byculla East, has been doing to revive the museum has now been recognised in the eastern part of the country. The Centre for International Modern Art, located in Kolkata, has presented her with a special award for the effort that she has put in. "Many people have contributed to [the museum's] success, especially our very dedicated staff. I have also been fortunate to have the guidance of our trustees," Zakaria said.

Heavens open up for Lazaro

The relationship between heaven and earth is at the centre of artist Desmond Lazaro's new exhibition, on display at Chemould Prescott Road at present. He shared that much of his work over the last decade has been a dialogue with migration, defining and redefining the concept of home. "In 2018, my family and I moved to Australia and, amidst another migration, soon followed by the global pandemic, and more importantly, the passing of my mum. I recall the loss being immediate, as if she had slipped into the stars, beyond anything I could imagine, a place of awe, beauty, and wonder. Strange, as I knew it but could not comprehend it: she was there, and I was not, and yet the heavens seemed to hold us both. Grief can take many forms, and mine sought comfort in stargazing in the paintings - The Sea of Untold Stories, The Dunhuang Star Atlas, Mapping the Heavens, and Principia I, II & III," Lazaro shared, adding, "This inquiry into the heavens continues in the ‘Cosmos' works presented here, but with a marked difference: the geometric, non-figural approach."