Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Colour washA mason cements painted tiles that depict the iconic Dhobi Ghat on a wall in Saat Rasta Mahalaxmi as part of the BMCrsquos beautification driveHits the SpotReaders of a certain vintage will remember a couple romancing to a catchy tune for the erstwhile soft drink Gold Spot This was back in the 1990s Now in 2021 a production company called Potli Baba has recreated that jingle in a modern avatar replete with references to memes and video games though they have retained the original tune that jazz veteran Louiz Banks had composed ldquoAs soon as I heard the new version I was flooded with great fun memories of sitting in the studio and recording this jingle with Eric Drsquosouza and Gary Lawyer I am glad that they retained the music by the original composerrdquo Banks told this diaristFriends foreverFrom left Nithila Kanagasabai and Shilpa PhadkeShilpa Phadke is 17 years older than Nithila Kanagasabai They started their relationship as teacher and student But that evolved into a friendship that has stood the test of time It set them thinking about friendship as an intergenerational concept And that gave birth to the idea of An Anthology of Friendship a compilation of reallife stories featuring women and genderqueer people from South Asia They are now calling for submissions to complete the project ldquoWe are asking for essays that are between 500 and 2500 words where the narrative can be of the personrsquos own experience or that of others and graphic art and poems as well We want to make it a truly South Asian effort and are thus mobilising our networks in countries like Pakistan Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as wellrdquo Phadke told this diarist Interested in sharing your story Write in to shilpanithilagmailcom by July 15Arty exploits in NashikThe artist community was one of the hardest hit in the past one and a half years Now in an encouraging step for artists in the state the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation MTDC has curated the firstever MTDC Artist Residency in association with Floating Canvas Company The current edition features graffiti artist Zake in pic who has drawn inspiration from the murals of Ajanta and Ellora for the project and illustrator Anand Radhakrishnan As part of it the artists are being hosted at the scenic MTDC Grape Park Resort in Nashik which offers a 360degree view of the natural landscape perfect to inspire boundless creativity Cool moveSingh is kingInternational Hospitality Council is a Londonbased organisation that along with the Indian Institute of Hospitality and Management hosts an annual award to recognise global leaders from the FampB industry The lifetime achievement award for this yearrsquos edition has been presented to AD Singh founder MD of the Olive Group of Restaurants The virtual event also witnessed the general secretary of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation Zurab Pololikashvili congratulating all the winners25 years of Indian storiesYesterday childrenrsquos book publishing company Karadi Tales celebrated its 25th anniversary The seeds of the company were laid as a project for kids in a blind school in Pune But that eventually evolved into a flourishing business that over time incorporated audio books an animation series and even film production Cofounder Narayan Parasuram recalled to this diarist that noted names including Naseeruddin Shah Girish Karnad Usha Uthup and Rahul Dravid have lent their voice to Karadirsquos audio booksldquoWe even forayed into adult literature with APJ Abdul Kalamrsquos Wings of Desire which Gulzar saab narrated in Hindirdquo he said Parasuram added that the idea was born out of a gap for audio books that they perceived in the Indian market ldquoBut we had no intention of forming a company when we started out all those years agordquo he shared