Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The weight is over

An elderly man checks a woman's weight for her at the foot overbridge in Santacruz West on Tuesday.

Back in time

The building on Sir Pherozeshah Mehta Road with a statue of Goddess Lakshmi

Many Mumbaikars use Sir Pherozeshah Mehta Road every day, not realising its historical significance, but a virtual walk of this stretch hopes to share these gems with participants. "The road played a significant role in the development of Bombay, as it was the first East-West corridor, and it became the most important commercial and financial centre. It is also the earliest expression of a distinctly Indian identity as expressed in its Art Deco architecture embellished with Indian symbols, including agricultural motifs and etchings of the Goddess Lakshmi," shared Atul Kumar, founder-trustee of Art Deco Mumbai. To sign up, check out facebook.com/artdecomumbai.

Kidding with books

It's a good time for children to be exposed to the best of writers apart from the ones featured in their school curriculum. And Storytrails that offers story-based learning programmes for kids, has a new initiative in that direction. As part of their book club, they've put out a host of online workshops for children aged between eight and 13 years centred on the works of well-known authors such as Ruskin Bond and Roald Dahl, and one on RK Narayan (in pic) that will be held this afternoon. Each hour-long session will be conducted by expert storytellers. "After each story we pause for interaction with the children and share interesting trivia about the author. In today's times we find that parents are very keen to introduce children to Indian writers like Bond and Narayan who write about a different time," shared Lakshmi Shankar who manages operations at Storytrails.

Leaving for a great gig in the sky

Not many people in India might have heard of Alexi Laiho. But the frontman of Finnish band Children of Bodom was a behemoth in the global metal scene, with his music appearing on charts in both the UK and US. Laiho passed way after prolonged illness on Tuesday, and it's a testament to the 41-year-old's popularity that there was an outpouring of grief even among people in the Indian music circuit. Uddipan Sarmah of indie act Aswekeepsearching is one of the people who paid tribute to him on social media. Sarmah told this diarist, "When I picked up the guitar back in college, one of the first songs I played was Every time I die by Children of Bodom. I was really into Scandinavian melodic death metal, and was a fan of his melodies and signature guitar. It was the right time for me to start following him, and I also watched him perform live when he came to Bangalore."

An artistic eye on the future

We are staring at an uncertain digital future, with rapid technological advancements being made across disciplines. But what role does art have to play in making sense of it all. That is what the Delhi-based Khoj International Artists' Association seeks to explore with an open call for artists to submit projects that think through possible digital futures, be it deep fakes invading social media timelines, or art in the age of post-truth. Indranjan Banerjee, programme manager at Khoj, shared with us, "We are looking at a vast range of creative practitioners, and are open to entries that lie at the intersection of art, design and technology." Visit khojworkshop.org to apply by February 28.

Musical inroads

Aspiring musicians, take note. Trinity Laban of Music and Dance, a premier music school in the UK, is collaborating with Mumbai's Furtados School of Music to offer three online courses to students in India. They include piano and strings masterclasses, and one on music theory. Leena Mistry, who manages the international programmes for Trinity Laban, told this diarist, "Participants will develop new techniques and explore music interpretation." Log on to trinitylaban.ac.uk/ to register.