Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

Pawri ho rahi hai
Two men and their canine have a ball of a time playing at Aksa beach.

Giving women a musical ear

Although women playback singers in India are many, prolific and popular, statistics from a recent study by the international arts collective FEMWAV have revealed that the ratio of women composers and producers to male composers and producers in Bollywood was only 1:80. Further, women comprise only 10 per cent of artiste managers in other key roles. It is this lacuna that the Indian Performing Right Society is hoping to address, CEO Rakesh Nigam told this diarist. "We have assembled a panel of prominent music professionals, including music director Sneha Khanwalkar, singer, composer and producer Anushka Manchanda (in pic) and singer and composer MM Sreelekha, and are inviting them to share their experiences and challenges," he shared. The roundtable discussion is scheduled on March 8 to mark International Women's Day.

Hey kids, you've got mail

The book includes letters by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan to his grandchildren

It's been a life-altering year for parents and kids stuck at home, trying to juggle studies, well-being, playtime and their own relationships. But it's been a harder year for children from underprivileged backgrounds, who have lost access to the already-scarce healthcare resources that can affect the first 1,000 critical days of a child's life. Anything Can Be (Penguin India), a title initiated by the NGO CRY, seeks to not just raise funds to support such kids, but also young parents with wisdom from those who have been there, done that.

Mandira Bedi to her kids

The book, authored by Sathya Saran, comprises letters of love from proud grandparents and parents including Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Zia Mody, Boman Irani, Hema Malini, Mandira Bedi and Sameera Reddy, to their kids and grandkids. "It was an idea that came from Sapna Kar [of CRY]. I took it forward in guiding the contributors. I think the book can help first-time parents. Many letters show how modern parents believe guidance is a better approach to parenting than structure; others talk of the power of choice, or celebrate talents in the young," shared Saran about the title.

A melodious union

The couple at the gig. Pic/Facebook

It's a gig that they will never forget. Bassist Mohini Dey was in for a massive surprise at the end of a show that she played last weekend with drummer Gino Banks, guitarist Rhythm Shaw and American saxophonist Mark Hartsuch, who is her partner. Hartsuch proposed to her at the end of the gig, going down on his knees while asking Dey to marry him. "He planned it with Rhythm and I two days before the gig, and my wife Eden arranged for a cake. We decided that we will take our last bow and tell the audience that we have just one more thing planned before leaving the stage," Banks told this diarist. Our heart-iest congratulations to the couple.

A quilt for keeps

Sonali Bendre Behl's artwork for CQP

We had reported in July last year about the Corona Quilt Project (CQP) that sought to document our lived experiences of these unique times in the form of squares of artworks that are being stitched together. With over 12,000 Indians contributing to the canvas, the first Corona Quilt will be unveiled at Jindal Mansion on International Women's Day. "When the world came to a standstill, people across the globe experienced a spectrum of emotions; we wanted to capture this. The quilt symbolises the light at the end of the tunnel," said Tarini Jindal Handa of JSW Group.

Meditation pays off

Meditation has been a key recommendation by health experts throughout the pandemic, and a recently conducted survey by mindfulness app, ThinkRight.me, reflected that most Indians take up the practice in search of happiness, peace and personal growth. One thousand individuals from Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune participated in the study. It also portrayed how meditation helps different age groups differently; for instance, in the 18-25 bracket, around 16 per cent meditated for better sleep, while in the 26-35 group, 25 per cent said they do it for stress. For 36-to-45-year-olds, personal growth trumped sleep and stress. Rajan Navani, V-C and MD, JetSynthesys, which runs the app, said, "The findings show that Indians are on the right path to leading a mindful way of life and bringing a positive change in their overall mental and emotional well-being."