Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Raje

In the face of worship

A woman chooses a Gauri idol from a store at Lalbaug, amid the ongoing Ganeshotsav festivities

The idol deal

Irrespective of where you live in the city, head to Andheri East's JB Nagar, to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi at the Riddhi Siddhi Mandal. Now in their 47th year, they have adopted a theme that's good for the environment - both natural and communal. The Ganesh murti is made with tissue paper, guar gum and alum, and will be immersed in an artificial pond to avoid polluting natural water bodies. Meanwhile, the organisers are also tackling the spread of fake news and highlighting the idea of unity in diversity through a 10-minute skit performed every day this week, from 7 pm to 11 pm at the mandal. "Fake news can lead to communal disharmony. So, the skit will encourage people to verify information before sharing it. Think twice before hitting the forward button," said Dinesh Chindarkar, an organiser.

Sounds of Mumbai

Team Tickle Talkies was awarded the first prize. Pic Courtesy/Instagram

In June, we had reported on this page that the Music Video Project (MVP), presented by BMC and Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF), announced a challenge for filmmakers: to create a music video that best captures the spirit of Mumbai. After sorting through inspired entries, they picked Team Tickle Talkies for The Mumbai Dhanak by Saisamarth Mulay, while the second prize was bagged by Team Thinking Mode for Mumba by Dee MC & D'Evil. Brinda Miller, chairperson, KGAF, said, "We should be proud of how we celebrate films as Mumbai is ‘the city' in India for cinema, and not just Bollywood. We want to make the initiative bigger next year."

Art-y communion

Family Portrait by Shradha Kochhar

Heads turned when conscious clothing brand Lovebirds found a home in the 19th-century Wesley Church in April this year. Driven by their core mantra of "togetherness and companionship", the Colaba studio has opened up its heritage quarters to emerging art, culture and design. With Lovebirds, Communion, the store will double up as an arts space. Co-founder Gursi Singh shared that the store was designed to adapt to different formats. "We want to bring together experimental artists, build a community and create a universe of shared thoughts. We're open to multidisciplinary works and artists, performances, book launches and conversations," Singh said. It premieres on September 8 with Brooklyn-based textile artist Shradha Kochhar's show, Closer, not far, comprising sculptural and flat-knitted objects made from hand-spinning kala cotton. Here's to creating more space for art.

Sea the experience

Animal in the Sea, oil and acrylic on canvas, 1978. In the painting, created in Delhi

It's been quite a year for artist Madhvi Parekh. In January, her paintings - rooted in humanitarianism, environmental inclusion and memory - inspired massive tapestries, against which Dior launched its new range at the Paris Couture Week. Now, we hear that Parekh is one of the 28 women artists, born between 1900 and 1951, whose works will be on display at the 10th edition of Frieze Masters 2022. Curated by DAG, the solo artist presentation, MADHVI PAREKH: An Ancient Modernness, will open on October 12 in London.It will feature 10 works from the 1970s, a significant decade in Parekh's life.

Madhvi Parekh creates an imaginary world, recalling for her daughters the time the family lived close to the sea in Mumbai (1962-64). PIC COURTESY/DAG

Kishore Singh of DAG shared that it's an honour to have the artist represent India. "The interesting element reflected in her works is that she takes a position born out of memory - of life, which doesn't necessarily reflect an urban scenario," he told us. In her works, Parekh, who in that decade lived in Mumbai and Kolkata before shifting to Delhi, creates a world for her daughters who were born then. "She recalls memories of Mumbai by the sea. There's this fantastical realm that she creates as a kind of escapist fantasy for her children and the viewer, which lends her a unique distinctive place in Indian modern art," Singh added.

A home run

A still from The Leopard's Tribe

It was a double bill for filmmaker Miriam Chandy Menacherry in Thiruvananthapuram. The filmmaker won the Special Jury award for her short documentary, The Leopard's Tribe, at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) on the same day as the premiere of her documentary, From The Shadows, at the same festival.

Miriam Chandy Menacherry. PICS COURTESY/FACEBOOK

"There was a combination of social issues and the craft of cinema which the audience responded to," the filmmaker told us, adding that the short film received a standing ovation, too. Menacherry revealed that From The Shadows had triggered curiosity among the audience at the festival. "I now have several offers to screen the film at other locations," the filmmaker admitted.