Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Mythology in MarathiFor those interested in mythology this episode will pique the imagination Residents of Maharashtrarsquos Sangli district must have been surprised that an Odia man spoke to them about the Vedas and Puranas in chaste Marathi for close to 40 minutesAnd we are not talking about the symbolic opening sentences that many celebrities mouth to strike a chord with the audience while quickly segueing into English or Hindi Mythologist and author Devdutt Pattanaik kept his audience at a memorial lecture in the town spellbound as he spoke in their language about how appreciating the importance of the Vedas and the Puranas is an interconnected processBorn and raised in Chembur Pattanaik wove in a bit of mythology to answer a question about his mother tongue ldquoBetween Devaki and Yashoda who would you call Lord Krishnarsquos motherrdquoStorytelling goes onlineItrsquos been a good year for those who donrsquot find the idiot box amusing any more Netflix was launched earlier this year in India and now a video streaming app from Amazon is available across mobile operating systemsMini MathurAmong a number of awardwinning original shows that are exclusive to the apprsquos catalogue is a series called The Storytellers An initiative of Roshan Abbasled Kommune which is an ideating platform for artists and performers the series celebrates the good old art of facetoface storytelling in the age of solitary communication with gadgetsEach session spans about five minutes where the speaker shares a personal moving story that has never been told before Some of the speakers that have shared their experiences at the sessions include Mini Mathur Sandhya Mridul Ishita Sharma Tess Joseph Gaurav Kapur Shamir Reuben among othersFor a safe childhoodrsquos sakeIn a city starved of open spaces it is not uncommon to see children running off to a busy road to catch a ball or find a hiding spot behind a parked car But that does not make play any less dangerous and to instil a sense of road safety in children Safe Kids Foundation organised a cartoonsketching workshop recentlyThe workshop a participantrsquos creationA nonprofit dedicated to the prevention of unintentional childhood injuries the organisation roped in architect and artist Manish Rangnekar to teach kids the basics of preparing a storyboard in a cartoon striplike format It seems the initiative met its purpose with the children touching upon themes like wearing seatbelts not using cell phones while crossing the road etcKirronrsquos political wordplayAt the recently concluded municipal elections in her constituency of Chandigarh BJP MP and actress Kirron Kher said what many members of the party have been feeling but are perhaps afraid to admitShe said that not only businessmen but even common people are bearing the brunt of cash crunch However the socalled digression from the party line ended when she quickly followed it up with lsquogive PM the 50 days he has asked forrsquo and then came up with something to the effect of no pain no gain Seasoned politico we sayMuseum in the mountainsThe Everest base camp in Nepal which is the preferred route to scale the summit was recently in news for a popup hosted by wellknown chef James SharmanAnd it seems the toughtoaccess Tibetan entrance to the summit is looking to up the ante with a helipad hotel and mountaineering museumThese facilities at the base camp are expected to attract thousands of visitors throughout the year The centre will also stock climber supplies repair equipment and basic medical amenitiesA new wavePicShadab KhanFarah Khan waves to the audience at the launch of a singing reality show at a Juhu fivestar yesterday as cojudges Anu Malik left and Sonu Nigam look on