Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Rain manA senseless daredevil attempts a stunt while trying to get into an autorickshaw amidst the heavy downpour in Sion on Saturday morningUpandcoming visuals artists this one is just for youArtists from all over India can apply till June 30 for Space118rsquos fine art production grant of Rs 15000 to Rs 100000 for their new and ongoing projects The grant is part of Space118rsquos continuing attempt to support visual artists and artmaking A jury comprising art collector Lekha Poddar gallerist Mortimer Chatterjee and artist Shilpa Gupta will choose the grantees who will also be able to participate in mentorship and review sessions with a senior or midcareer artist The recipients will get to exhibit their work through a lsquoVirtual Open Studio dayrsquo accessible on Space118rsquos social media handles and receive regular updates on art and cultural events across India ldquoThis is a very important starter grant for those struggling to be a part of the art world we have a fine jury and mentorsrdquo says Saloni Doshi director of Space118 The names of the grantees will be announced in AugustItrsquos a golden time for RedsReds PerrieraIndian cricket is celebrating 50 years for their firstever Test series win in the Caribbean achieved by the Ajit Wadekarled Indian team in 1971 Itrsquos also the golden jubilee year of the then unprecedented win in England When we say Indian cricket we mean the cricket lovers and media of this country and not the BCCI since they have yet to announce anything in terms of celebration and felicitations Joseph Reds Perriera is another cricket lover who is celebrating a golden jubileemdash50 years of cricket commentary Reds started describing international cricket action behind the microphone in the Guyana Test of that famous 1971 series and is still at it performing his radio commentary role in the ongoing West Indies v South Africa Test at St Lucia At 82 Reds is probably the oldest cricket commentator in the world He is also sharp as a knife only recently questioning certain selections made by the WI selectors Reds toured India for the Test series involving Clive Lloydrsquos men in 1983 and our inhouse cricket nut then wondered why he was seeing quite a few magazine interviews of the West Indies players when they did not grant too many interviews He then noticed the byline at the end of each interviewmdashReds Perreira A man of contacts goodwill and of course knowledge our friend Reds sure isWhen a desi travels the globeSundeep Bhutoria is a RajasthanbornKolkatabased social and cultural activist who travels the world discovering new cultures He has decided to now write about his adventures in the book The Global Desi Speaking to this diarist he says ldquoThe Global Desi focuses on three topics close to my heartmdashtravel literature and social issues It is my small way of celebrating India at home and abroad looking for Indian cuisine in every city I visit and meeting interesting peoplerdquo Be it a quirky cafeacute in Brazil a glimpse of Rajasthan in Rome or a commentary on social etiquette or lack thereof during a pandemic and behindthescenes notes on the largest literary festival in the world this book informs amuses and provokes in equal measureYouth can make it betterUNICEF with its partner YuWaah has launched a panIndia movement called the Young Warrior Movement that aims at engaging five million young people to help the country recover from the ongoing Covid19 crisis Surabhi Mishra 21 is one such warrior who has joined the movement as a NCC cadet ldquoThere are five simple tasks you have to complete These tasks include being someonersquos vaccine buddy be a stress buster become a fake news police be a compassionate giver and lastly to promote youthled action which includes promoting Covidappropriate behaviour masking sanitising hands and keeping a distancerdquo says Mishra We all are facing a crisis However Mishra feels that not giving up and taking every opportunity that comes your way to help the country and its citizens is the way forward ldquoThrough this movement the youth can spread positivity in trying timesrdquo says MishraIndiarsquos history in a boxEducator and researcher Dr Savita Vij who is the cofounder of History Trunkies which uses storytelling to conceptually take history out of a box is conducting a oneofakind fiveday workshop for kids between the age group of 10 and 14 The sessions being held in collaboration with Kitab Khana will begin on June 14 and will take participants through 400 years leading to Indiarsquos Independence ldquoGrowing up overseas there was no official mention of Indian History while vital records piecing together clues of how we ended up there were found in quiet archives boasting of Empire History is everywhere and belongs to all of us and wersquore excited to explore it collaboratively with young mindsrdquo says Vij For details visit historytrunkiesorg