Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pouring in a prayerA man begins his day with Surya Arghya at Prabhadevi on FridayThe show must go onNCPA will reopen with a performance on February 3 Pic courtesyRoshan M DuttIt would be modest to say that in 2020 we witnessed a cultural drought Come 2021 and things seem to be looking better for the cityrsquos National Centre for the Performing Arts NCPA is finally reopening its doors to the public next month And it is indeed opening with a bang a concert by the SOI Chamber Orchestra featuring classics with a hint of Bollywoodrsquos golden era There are also recitals by promising artistes in Hindustani classic music to look forward to as well as dance plays screenings and international music concertsThe box office goes live online today and about safety measures at the venue chairman Khushroo N Suntook told this diarist that all protocols have been designed in adherence to the rules laid down by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai apart from additional precautionary measures undertaken by them ldquoIn addition to compulsory and proper use of masks sanitisation and physical distancing in the premises as well as the theatres the audience artistes and staff will go through temperature and oxygenlevel checks upon entryrdquo he addedMaking this countNestled near Murud is a rich ecosystem where some rare flora and fauna thrive the Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary Earlier this month after the bird count was conducted in Karnala for the first time last month the Maharashtra Forest Department in collaboration with Green Works Trust GWT is making birding the focus here too From January 29 to 31 people can enrol to participate in the bird count But well this isnrsquot an opportunity that one can just wing ldquoBird counting is a scientific method where one gets to know how many species are there and the population of each one So anyone who signs up must be able to identify at least 5060 birds of Maharashtrardquo Sagar Satpute projects head GWT saidColour riot on RDay for the kidsLast month saw the inauguration of Jolly Art Adda a oneofakind space in Kanjur Marg for artists to work on their pieces as well as display them With Republic Day approaching the venue is readying for another unique initiative On January 22 it will host 26 children from underprivileged areas in the city who will be handed 26 canvas boards They will then be asked to paint a part of the board as per their wish and fill in the rest with their vision of the country Rashmi Jolly honorary consul general of Czech Republic for Maharashtra and Goa who is helming the event told midday ldquoWe will be distributing 50 per cent of the boards to these children in advance and the balance will paint live These measures have to be adopted due to social distancingrdquoNissimrsquos verses come to lifeNissim Ezekiel is one of those poets who are synonymous with the poetry produced in their country And those who are interested in delving deep into his works can attend a special session today by The Bombay Poetry Crawl an initiative by Saranya Subramanian The event titled Reading Nissim Ezekiel is a conversation between poets Kavita Ezekiel Mendonca and Menka Shivdasani ldquoTheyrsquove both had personal interactions with him while Mendonca is Ezekielrsquos daughter Shivdasani was mentored by him and are esteemed poets themselvesrdquo Subramanian shared Log on to thebombaypoetrycrawl on Instagram for registration detailsCapture the coastThe Coastwise Marine Festival is known for shining the spotlight on the countryrsquos lesserknown marine species and on conservation While 2021rsquos edition includes a host of events scheduled next month it also includes a photography competition to celebrate Indiarsquos marine biodiversity The competition is now open with six categories such as portraits habitat behaviour anthropocene creative and fine art and underwaterldquoDespite having experienced one of the worst years ever 2020 the competition also offers participants a reason to go back to their photographs and dig something up The entries donrsquot necessarily need to be from last year The contest is open till February 15rdquo Shaunak Modi cofounder Coastal Conservation Foundation who is part of the festival team informed us Interested folk can send their entries by heading to coastwiseinsubmit