Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Boating bliss
As birds take flight, a fisherman sets sail by Dadar Chowpatty on Thursday.

Marathi play gets virtual twist

A still from VismayA still from Vismay

Last November, we had reported on this page that Andheri's Harkat Studios was launching a one-of-a-kind virtual interactive stage with three productions. The initiative meant that the audience would get to interact with performers and shape the narrative live, too. While the first play was staged earlier this month, this weekend, they will be presenting their first Marathi one. Created by Gulmohar Production, Vismay revolves around a scientist on a visit to his village, who loses his way back home. The play has been directed by Sandesh Dugje, who told us that all members of his team are recent graduates of Ruia College who were part of its theatre department. "We weren't sure that we'd be selected but were keen to explore ourselves outside college. We did a lot of research into interactive plays and learnt how to combine theatre with camerawork," he told this diarist.

Art binds cities together

"It's been a year of staying home and while galleries opened gradually in the last few months as COVID numbers began to decline, several of our participations in art fairs both within and around the world continue to be on hold," Shireen Gandhy (in pic), creative director, Chemould Prescott Road (CPR) shared. But as is the nature of art, creative solutions must be found, and for CPR, the answer lay in collaboration. Along with Kolkata's Experimenter and New Delhi's Nature Morte and Vadehra Art Gallery, CPR will be part of a collaborative exhibition titled On | Site.

Jitish Kallat's Wind Study (for Kepler) will be part of the exhibition

The project will be held between March 3 and 9 at New Delhi's Bikaner House, a former residence of the Maharaja of Bikaner in Rajasthan. About its conceptualisation and choice of venue, Gandhy told this diarist, "The idea of collaborating in a significant way that highlights critical art practices brought us to thinking of a cohesive exhibition space via this in-person project between four galleries coming together for the first time in over a year." The works of some of Mumbai's most celebrated artists including Anju Dodiya, Jitish Kallat, Shilpa Gupta, Dhruvi Acharya and Mehlli Gobhai will be on view. If you cannot make it to Delhi, keep your eyes peeled for digital interactions that will accompany the physical exhibition.

Missing Girl lives on at Kala Ghoda

Mumbai and Kolkata-based anti-trafficking organisation, Missing Link Trust, has been using art to create awareness and make the public a part of the solution for years. An integral part of this has been the Missing Girl silhouette, which is located at street corners across the world. For a while, founder Leena Kejriwal has been wanting to give the Missing Girl a face, and trying to articulate who she is through her experience with victims of trafficking. For the first time, the organisation has given the girl a form through six artworks on the walls at Kala Ghoda. Each mural has a QR code, which directs you to her diary. "She's sassy, angry, inquisitive, curious and has a dream. If you scan the codes, you get an insight into her thought process and aspirations," Kejriwal informed. We like.

Because doc knows best

Leading city-based urological cancer and robotic surgeon Dr V Srinivas has penned his second work of fiction. It tackles an issue close to his heart and profession - malpractice in the medical field. The recently-released book is called A Tale of Two Medics (White Falcon Publishing) and is about two doctors, born in the same town and a few months apart, who tread divergent paths. About what inspired him to write this story, Srinivas shared, "Due to a few unethical doctors the image of the medical profession in general has become very stale. This is a worrisome trend and the truth of medicine needs to be put out there for people to believe in this noble profession. I wanted to make readers aware of malpractices around them and to uphold their trust in doctors. Hopefully, it will set an example for the younger professionals in the field."

Fiery hip-hop talent, this

"Music literally saved my life, from everything I was going through when I discovered writing [lyrics]." That's what hip-hop artiste Nitin Mishra aka Spitfire of Gully Boy fame told this diarist about his latest EP, Partein, which is an ode to music as an art form. Sample the lyrics in the opening track, Sangeet - "Sangeet hi ye bimari/ Sangeet hi ye dawa hai/ Yuhi haan khud mein hi kho ke/ Khud ko hi milne chala hai." The EP speaks not just for him, but for scores of rappers in India whose careers found a new lease of life once the hip-hop boom took off in this country. This record encapsulates that phenomenon.