Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Nimesh Dave

Green Green Grass of home

Pedestrians walk down the fresh green cover that has sprouted in the monsoons on the overbridge at Andheri railway station

About the becoming of artistic desire

Lalitha Lajmi

Self-taught veteran artist Lalitha Lajmi's prints will be up for a live auction at Prinseps from August 10 that will navigate themes such as death, performance and the complexities of human emotions. Lajmi told this diarist, "Although it's very rare for me to do an online auction, I feel it's a good medium for artistic exposure."

Lot 24 - Death Reading a Book of Poems

Looking down the long road she has travelled as an artist, the 89-year-old recounted, "My uncle BB Benegal was a commercial artist and painter. He gifted me a box of paints when I was just five years old, and that was the beginning of my artistic desire," she said, adding that she didn't find enough time to pursue her passion after her marriage. "In 1973, I began attending evening classes at Sir JJ School of Art for three years. Back then, I was only doing oils and drawings and wasn't very serious about printmaking. I sold my first oil artwork to a German archaeologist for Rs 100, and my drawings for Rs 15," she recalls.

Kaleidoscope on the Koli community

Two Koli women prepare to sell fish in Worli. Pic courtesy/Anita Yewale

Does the loss of traditional livelihood for Kolis make you concerned about losing an integral part of our city's heritage? A talk titled #KolisAtTheCrossroads by Dr Sanjay Ranade (inset), a professor of journalism at Mumbai University, will discuss this scenario.

Organised by Maritime Mumbai Museum Society, today's talk, Ranade said, will examine if Kolis will survive as Kolis at all. "Every community has a psyche which is developed through self-work. Apart from occupation, culture or language also adds to that psyche. Unless a community claims its language and expressions, it might give in to appropriation, and follow the wind like dry leaves," he revealed. Those interested in a deep-dive on the subject can check mmms.in.

When misfits fit the bill

Mumbai-born writer Murzban F Shroff (inset) added another feather in his cap with his recent win - the Bacopa Literary Review 2022 Fiction Award. He bagged this honour organised by the annual print journal of the Writers Alliance of Gainesville for his story, An Act of Kindness. About the chosen story, he shared, "While I continue to write about ordinary lives that may not be available to us, I am also leaning towards the oddballs, the misfits, people you would consider the freaks of society, the socially and sexually challenged, the mentally bleak, the feverishly proud, the gnawingly petty, and the lost and the paranoid. An Act of Kindness was one such literary experiment." He is glad that there are fertile avenues, where writing and literature can continue to take some visceral risks.

For the forgotten

Tributes through performing arts are a beautiful way to relive legacies. Heritage Stories and Performing Arts is based on this idea. The platform will celebrate the second anniversary of their initiative, Itihaas Ke Pannon Se, on August 6 to honour the unsung heroes of our freedom struggle through performative storytelling, which will unravel for a live audience at Mayor Hall in Andheri West. Storyteller and founder Sarita Nair (in pic) told us, "These stories collected from across states need to be felt in a live space." Nair emphasised on bringing these legacies into consciousness, reminding us of the common goal of freedom and unity.

Juxtaposed for the rains

The colourful irlas shot by Gopal MS (left)

Mumbai Paused founder Gopal MS caught an interesting sight during his yatra to honour deity Vithoba. About 10 km away from Pandharpur temple, pilgrims shielded themselves from the rain with R10 raincoats. A closer look would tell you that they were stitched from American consumer brands not often seen in India, in the form of traditional Konkan Irlas or Ghongdas. Gopal quips, "The juxtaposition was amusing and I had to capture it."