Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

A man a dog and a catnapTwo Mumbaikars sleep beside each other on a platform at Masjid Bunder railway stationLetrsquos hear it for ABAn elderly voice emerged on our screens during Day One of the BorderGavaskar Trophy series on Friday We wondered who it was for a while until we were told that Allan Border was part of the Fox Sports commentary team How apt it is to have the great Australian and the Indian little master lending their views on the Test Border has not been in the pink of health and his been battling Parkinsonrsquosmdash but his views are clear lucid and directSunil Gavaskar and Allan Border with the BorderGavaskar Trophy in Perth on Friday PICGETTY IMAGESHe seemed to enjoy himself and accepted the different kind of shots that were played And amidst all that he appreciated the courage on display Border was a hard man as captain of his country He wanted Dean Jones to continue batting at Chennai in 1986 despite him being in the throes of dehydration Border was only alarmed when his late mate landed up in hospitalBorderrsquos contribution to Australian cricket can never be underestimated In that great sports writer Mike Cowardrsquos words ldquoAllan Border gave Australian cricket the kiss of liferdquo Now Border needs a gift of better health that he so richly deserves80 years through the ViewfinderFrom painter to thespian to celebrated Bollywood actor Amol Palekar has now added one more feather to his cap with the launch of his autobiography Viewfinder in Mumbai yesterday Originally written by Palekar during the COVID19 pandemic the manuscript was revived by his wife Sandhya as a special project to mark his 80th birthday today the actor tells this diaristAmol PalekarLaunching the book in Marathi was important for the actor who takes great pride in his roots but in order to reach a wider audience the book is also being released in English and a Hindi version is in the pipeline too The book will include QR codes that will lead readers to Palekarrsquos rare works which many may not have seen ldquoI often hear that my directed films didnrsquot reach audiences and sadly itrsquos truerdquo says the actor ldquoI urged the rightsowners of my films to make them accessible to the world There are also some rare posters vintage handdrawn hoardings my old interviews and articleshellip and a few other treasures readers will find through the bookrdquoAs for why itrsquos named Viewfinder Palekar shares a moving moment when veteran director Hrishikesh Mukherjee gifted the actor his own ldquodirectorrsquos viewfinderrdquomdashused to check the frame for a shotmdashwhich in turn had been given to Mukherjee by renowned director Bimal Roy ldquoIn this book Irsquom sharing with you the distilled memories of my 80year odyssey framed through this very Viewfinderrdquo says PalekarThe music boxThis Bandra boy wears multiple hatsmdashthat of a singer composer recording artiste and everything related to music and he is set to drop a new track in the coming week called UnspokenArjun KanungoArjun Kanungo has got one clear goalmdashto make his listeners ldquofeel somethingrdquo According to him music must hit you right in the feels but it also needs to have that perfect packaging ldquofresh new and dripping with global vibesrdquo he saysThe 30yearold pop singer is on a mission to not be stereotyped into what Indian artiste sounds like on a global stage He tells Sunday midday ldquoI am tired of outsiders telling us what ldquoIndianrdquo means in musicrdquo and he is flipping the script one song at a timePost COVID19 pandemic Kanungo started his own label and is aiming to venture into new markets from performing in Japan to dabbling in KPop Kanungo is slowly but surely building his global reputation as an independent artistUlwe celebrates The ConstitutionThe Samvidhan Amrut Mahotsav Samiti will be held in Ulwe from November 24 to 26 and hopes to arm citizens with knowledge of the constitution ldquoIn todayrsquos sociopolitical climate where political influences and even the masses seem to drift away from the Constitution we risk losing its essence The Constitution binds us together despite our vast differences and diversity We must remind ourselves as Babasahebrdquo says Mayura Saav one of organisers adding ldquoWe are Indians firstly and Indians lastlyrdquoThe Samvidhan Amrut Mahotsav Samiti UlweThe event will feature activities designed to engage all age groups The Run for Fraternity Marathon symbolising unity and equality a puppet show by Varanasirsquos Creative Paper Theatre an Art Exhibition showcasing constitutional themes Nirmik Arts and Yalgar Sathi Folk Group will be performing street plays speeches and discussions and a live orchestra performanceThe celebration stems from Samvidhan Katta a grassroots initiative started earlier this year at Samvidhan Chowk in Ulwe A small group of Samvidhan Pracharak Volunteers began meeting to discuss constitutional values sing songs and promote civic awareness Over time this evolved into a larger community movementCreating a real RacketThere is a racket going on of a sporty kind Mumbaikars will soon see a game called Racketlon being played in the city Here a player competes against an opponent in the four biggest racket sports table tennis badminton squash and tennis and the game is coming to an upscale South Mumbai club very soon The host club has a lawn a genteel reputation has another club as its neighbour across the road accent on the neigh here and the first part of the clubrsquos name signifies ready or eager to do something Let the guessing game begin