Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

TLC for the GatewayWorkers sit atop the scaffolding set up for the ongoing restoration works at the Gateway of IndiaCorrearsquos vision for our timesFrom left A view of Kanchanjunga Apartments on Peddar Road File Pic A sketch of Charles Correa Illustration CourtesyDOULURI NARAYANA NIYOGI BOOKSAs Mumbai continues to battle the monsoon wearily with its neversaydie attitude the late Charles Correa would have found it amusing The architect and urban planner who passed away on this day June 16 in 2015 was among the early visionaries behind the idea of Navi Mumbai ldquoThis was back in 1964 when the municipal council had put out a plan for the development of then Bombayrdquo shared architect Mustansir Dalvi right who authored Correarsquos biography Citizen Correa 2024Recalling instances of Correarsquos ideas that assimilated culture and context into design Dalvi explained ldquoHe always had the idea that architecture in India should be a product of climate context and culture In Kanchanjunga he tried to create a series of apartment blocks into which natural light and air flowed The interesting shape of the structure is a product of the terraces created a part of his vision to give every inhabitant lsquoa piece of the skyrsquo You will be hard pressed to find that todayrdquo Mumbai could do with many Correas todayNatural inksAn art work by Nidhi ChoudhariIAS officers Nidhi Choudhari inset Maharashtra cadre and Rajanvir Kapur West Bengal cadre seek to change the perception of the bureaucracy with their twinsolo exhibition Whispers of the Woods that opens at the Jehangir Art Gallery today ldquoWe are batchmates and at my exhibition in November 2024 Rajanvir offered to collaborate We have very different styles and so coming together brings a visually interesting mixrdquo Choudhari shared The 60 art works on display centre on the idea of nature as core to civilisation While Choudhari draws on Indian myths to shape her portrayals Kapur brings to the fore abstract elements of style from Aboriginal Australian to Japanese artCoffee on canvasAn artwork by Shahbaz KhanWhat better combination than coffee with art Mumbairsquos artist Shahbaz Khan came up with the idea and executed it at a popular coffee shop in Fort He shared ldquoI was out for a cup of coffee with my wife While waiting for it to arrive I picked up a tissue and started scribbling on it with a pen and putting down ideas for a new artwork It struck me that a combination of art and coffee will be great Thatrsquos when I decided to work on the ideardquoTango in BaliKruti Gandhi Sarda performs with Augustin Miguele at a previous showcase Pic CourtesyInstagramNot everyone heads to Indonesia for a holiday Kruti Gandhi Sarda set a record of sorts by becoming the first Indian to finish on the podium of the Indonesia Tango Championship Preliminaries last Friday The Mumbaibased dancer finished third ldquoThis is one of the affiliations to the World Tango competition that is open to Asians and thereby India I competed in the social tango category where you change partners as you go I was among five Indians in the competition However to win a podium position at the championship was quite a delightrdquo the dancer told this diaristPreserving the pastDr Sophie Lewinchamp guides participants at a workshop Pic CourtesyFHFCome July and Mumbai is the place to be for those interested in the classics The Film Heritage Foundation FHF will join hands with the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia NFSA with support from the Australian Consulate to host a threeday workshop on film paper and photo conservation starting July 16 Led by Dr Sophie Lewincamp head of conservation and collection management NFSA and Ashley Manning audiovisual conservation coordinator NFSA the workshops will focus on educating a new generation of conservationists shared Shivendra Singh Dungarpur founder FHF ldquoIn addition to the workshops we will also be screening PJ Hoganrsquos Murielrsquos Wedding 1994 and Peter Weirrsquos The Cars That Ate Paris 1974 It is part of our continued efforts to work and train with people dedicated to film and photo conservationrdquo he added