Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

Remembering Wendell Rodricks

An image of Rodricks shared by Marrel on Instagram 

By tapping into social media, Wendell Rodricks was possibly one of the first Indian fashion veterans to foster direct relationships not only with his followers but also with the industry. This legacy is continued till today by his partner Jérôme Marrel  who shares regular updates on Rodricks’ many loves, including his culinary joys, his dream project; The Moda Goa Museum (it opens to the public on October 26), and his pets. “One year since you left,” he said in a recent post, sharing details of an online mass organised by Rodricks’ family from Dubai today to mark the designer’s first death anniversary. 

The post was wreathed with memories of an incredible talent and endless inspiration. As one of the most prolific and admired designers in modern times, his contribution to Indian fashion remains unparalleled; his wry humour, sorely missed. More importantly, he will be remembered for a sartorial style that meant freedom for women to reclaim power over their bodies. In related news, HarperCollins has commissioned Urvashi Bahuguna to write a biography of Rodricks, her adopted uncle.

Tropical state of mind

The buzzing Todi-Mathuradas Mill Compound is set to get a new hangout — Cafe Panama — today. Replacing Cafe Zoe, the 4,000-sqft bistro, founded by Sohel Lalvani and Shaan Gidwani, will be dishing out a fusion of European and Latin American flavours, along with an extensive collection of tequila concoctions. Think of a casual, relaxed space that offers a quick escape from the city, shared Lalvani. “The Latin American theme came to us from the space itself — the natural sunlight, exposed brick wall and the 30-feet high ceiling. We have used a lot of old-school Panama art-deco inspired elements.” Lalvani added that the menu boasts of dishes from Chile, Mexico, Peru and Argentina, and “the cocktails promise to mentally whisk you off to the beaches along the Caribbean Sea.” Neat.

A conversation starter

In creative industries, sexual harassment is often brushed under the carpet. This evening, a panel of dance, theatre artistes, and activists, including city-based Kathak dancer Sanjukta Wagh and cultural innovator Sameera Iyengar, will come together to discuss the issue in the performing arts space. “A structure for addressing this is present in corporate spaces. We need to see if those models work for us,” Paramita Saha (inset), co-director of Artsforward, one of the organisations helming the event, shared. The open-table discussion will take place offline at Offbeat CCU in Kolkata as well as on Zoom. To register, log on to linktr.ee/Artsforward.

This tram completes a decade

The much-loved Tram Arts Trust (TAT), that introduced the city and country to object theatre, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this month. When this diarist asked its creative director Choiti Ghosh (in pic) if she envisioned this day, she cackled, “Oh God! Just so never!” before narrating a rather serendipitous journey. It was Sanjna Kapoor, the then-director of Prithvi Theatre, who asked five theatre artistes including Ghosh to make a play for the Prithvi Carnival in 2011. “We made a play, but she told us she couldn’t just put the name of five individual artistes on a poster. So, we brainstormed and Tram Theatre came about. We didn’t even know what we wanted to do after that play!” she said. Well, how time flies. Keep an eye out for a special festival from TAT this year, which will feature other theatre artistes.   

Happy Valentine’s Day, dost

(Clockwise from right) Artworks by Div, Anureet, Tora, Gayatri, and Chetna

The imagery associated with February 14 is often that of a man and a woman and red roses somewhere in between. But that image is exclusionary and Dostcard, a postcard-exchange initiative by Forbidden Verses, a Delhi-based artists’ organisation and Almaarii, an illustrated collection of ‘closets’ and what they mean for South Asian queer people, is a step to change that.

You can choose to send a Dostcard — 13 designs have been illustrated by queer artists — to anyone you wish. “Valentine’s Day has always been a celebration of cis-gendered, heterosexual and monogamous relationships -- one which is romantic and sexual. We wanted to expand it to be queer and celebrate all kinds of love, be it platonic or that you have with a chosen family. Why can’t we celebrate it with a friend or even a stranger?,” Anureet Watta, executive head, Forbidden Verses, shared. A part of what you pay will go towards a mutual aid initiative to provide rations for working class cis women, trans women and people from the Kothi communities. Visit linktr.ee/forbiddenverses to purchase one if you like.

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