Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Pic/Aditi Haralkar

Connecting people

Two friends mirror the statues nearby as they share a laugh near RA Podar college in Matunga.

A Diwali tradition

Damle (centre) with Pai (right) hold up the first copy of the edition

For Maharashtrians of a certain age, the arrival of Diwali was often marked with the ‘Diwali ank' or a special edition to celebrate the festival. "This tradition has slowly faded out. So, we thought of bringing it back with our own publication that will come out in October," shared Pundalik Pai of Dombivli's Pai's Friends Library. With theatremaker Prashant Damle as guest editor this year, Pai hopes this will spark a revival.

Fight the collective fight

Even as the fight for equality led by the Women Cinema Collective (WCC) in the Malayalam film industry is finally coming to fruition, Miriam Chandy Menacherry (below) is intrigued as to how it will shape up the future. "I have been working on a project, under a grant by the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), tracing the journey of the filmmakers involved in the collective," she shared. This evening, the filmmaker will join some of the founding members of the collective such as Revati, Anjali Menon and Bina Paul in a project presentation followed by a panel discussion online. "I have been following their individual journeys for the last two years. I was conducting interviews, learning about their journey into cinema, and all that we are seeing today are the systemic issues that they are fighting. These are filmmakers and artistes with very individualistic journeys, and work in different dimensions of cinema that came together for a common cause," she shared. Readers interested in the conversation might do well to check for details on facebook.com/IFA.

Reunion of Marathi talent

A moment from a previous edition of the programme at St Xavier's College

As St Xavier's College's Marathi Vangmay Mandal (MVM) completes 102 years since its inaugural in 1923, the students celebrated the milestone with a day-long cultural programme yesterday which marked the beginning of a new academic year for the committee. "We wanted to inaugurate this season with something memorable. The theme was punarbhet, which means reunion in Marathi," shared Jodel Godinho, head of MVM PR externals. The event featured various performances, narrations and discussions regarding Marathi culture. "We staged a sangeet natak [musical] that portrayed how talented individuals had to give up their dreams of becoming artistes for various worldly reasons like money, family, and other commitments," Godinho added. The students also hosted renowned celebrities from the Marathi entertainment industry like Chaya Kadam, Ganesh Pandit, Saurabh Gokhale, Vandana Gupte and Shashank Ketkar. "The discussions were a throwback to age-old Marathi filmmaking techniques, and how we have grown by leaps and bounds. The Mandal has some exciting presentations this year. We are looking forward to this academic year," she shared.

Sketching our hospital heroes

The sketch of Jaslok Hospital staffer Ann Susan Koshy; (right) Koshy reacts to her portrait. Pic Courtesy/Instagram

The hallways of Jaslok Hospital have been unusually cheerful this week. Prescribing these smiles is city-based illustrator Pranjali Jadhav who created live sketches for staffers and patients at the hospital during a visit last week. "My mother was admitted and while I was accompanying her I noticed the amount of selfless work that goes into taking care of a patient.

Pranjali Jadhav

As a token of appreciation, I pulled out my iPad and created a few quick sketches of the people around me," revealed Chavan. As for staffer Ann Susan Koshy, her astonishment is evident in a video shared by Chavan where Koshy is seen excitedly showing her peers the artwork in disbelief. "Koshy called me today to tell me that she had become somewhat of a celebrity at the hospital after this episode. I'm glad my art could bring a smile on the faces of these individuals who work so hard behind the scenes," Chavan shared.

A unique type

Babubhai types out Sana Ginwalla's poem on his typewriter

The clickety clack of working typewriters across Fort's business district might be fading away, but gallerist Sumesh Sharma hopes to blend them into the gallery's ongoing curations. As part of Sana Ginwalla and Shameelah Khan's larger exhibition piece at the space, Sharma (inset) decided to rope in 75-year-old Harakchand Nagji Savla AKA Babubhai's famed typewriting skills into the mix.

"We decided to approach Nagjibhai, or Babubhai as he is popularly called, since a mere printout in a group exhibition would not justify this deeply and emotionally enriched piece titled Elusive Clouds. Being one of the last typists in Mumbai, and green of the bond paper used in court matters that usually concern issues that are personal, we decided to make a piece of conceptual art that was word-based and drawn from poetry." While one print is on display, five more prints at the Colaba-based gallery till the end of this month.