Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Reaching for Wellness: A man and his young son stay hydrated while grabbing a spot of exercise at Five Gardens in Dadar. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

When women take the lead

Blue Period

City-based art gallery Method's Kala Ghoda space is back after a brief hiatus owing to renovations, which includes an expansion. "When we did Tyler's show in the expanded space, it was purely temporary; but, through the three-month duration, we saw it as part of Method and decided to make it permanent. The [expanded] space will allow us to host either larger solo exhibitions or curate multiple artists at the same time. It will enable a more immersive experience," Sahil Arora, its founder and curator, told this diarist.

The Daily Dose by Santosh Jain

Come July 1, the gallery will display the works of Santosh Jain in a solo exhibition titled She's In The Streets, She's In The Stars. Speaking about the artist, Arora added, "Santosh Jain has been an artist for over 50 years. What excites us is her fascination, even with age, with newer technologies. After years of printmaking and mastering traditional art forms, Jain picked up the camera in her 50s and then taught herself Photoshop. The result of these experiments is a series of digital landscapes that eventually circle back to her former mediums in terms of their texture, treatment and presentation. Thematically too, the exhibition presents women in the important roles they play in society, more as central characters rather than bystanders."

Santosh Jain

Horror can be sticky business

A still from Chingum

Chingum (or Chewing Gum), a short film by city-based filmmaker Mihir Fadnavis has been selected for screening at the 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. The film is one of three Indian films to be showcased at the festival and will be screened in the Fantastic Shorts section. "The film spans the duration of one night. It follows a man who boards a local train, only to find that his fellow passenger has tentacles and a voracious appetite," Fadnavis told this diarist. The festival is one of the most coveted in the fantasy and horror genre, and Fadnavis adds that it is one of the only three festivals in the world to focus on this genre.

Join with pride

Columbia Global Centers is conducting a week of virtual events to mark Pride Month. Today's session will include a panel discussion on LGBTQiA+ rights in the Middle East and North Africa. Panelists include Rasha Younes (in pic), a researcher with Human Rights Watch and queer activist Dalia Al Faghal, among others. Check out globalcenters.columbia.edu if you'd like to attend.

On the table

The Table, a restaurant in Colaba, has been nominated for the World Culinary Awards in the category of India's Best Restaurant 2021. The restaurant, known for being one of the first to offer small and large plates and a farm-to-table experience with produce from its Alibaug farm, has fed Irish rock band U2 as well as a bevy of Bollywood stars. Of the nomination, co-founders Gauri Devidayal and Jay Yousuf said, "It's been a difficult year for us, so this news really was the motivation our entire team needed to know that we must be doing something right and to keep working through the challenges." The awards are considered the most prestigious of their ilk in the culinary world.

Sounds good

Dhee

Audio platform Spotify recently launched its singles programme in India, giving artistes another outlet to widen their reach and engage with their fans. The first to feature in this programme are Tamil artiste Dhee and French record producer William Grigahcine, aka DJ Snake, who dropped a new version of the former's smash-hit track Enjoy enjaami. Dhee shared that DJ Snake has re-imagined the popular track, turning it into a blend of sounds from Tamil Nadu and electronic dance beats: "I'm so excited about being the first artiste from India to be a part of the programme and, that too, for my debut independent single. I can't wait for everyone to hear what DJ Snake has recreated."

DJ Snake