Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

Heavy Lies the head

An optical illusion causes a fisherwoman to look like she is carrying a boat in her basket at the Marve Jetty in Malad.

Parallel views in Parel

A moment from a previous walk; (right) Chandika Devi temple in Parel

An upcoming archaeology-themed walk in Parel might leave you at a crossroads about the perpetual roadwork in the city. “In 1931, during a road construction in the neighbourhood, authorities discovered an extremely rare bas relief that is now an Archaeological Survey of India-protected structure. Believed to depict Shiva, the monolith is now housed in the Baradevi Temple,” revealed archaeologist Ashwini Gawli, who will lead the walk through many such spots around Parel Village next Sunday.  Those keen to dig up other lesser known facts, can register at @bombaygezgin.

Writer in performance

(From left) Eli Rodrigues, Jeet Thayil and Kenneth Rebello perform on the Little Theatre stage at NCPA. Pic/Anurag Ahire

Breaking a 16-year-hiatus, Jeet Thayil returned with his latest title, I’ll Have It Here, a compilation of poems written between 2020 and 2024. For the Mumbai launch, the Sahitya Akademi-awardee took to stage alongside Kenneth Rebello (guitar) and Eli Rodrigues for a storied performance at NCPA. “The evening was a captivating fusion of literature and music, drawing in both poetry enthusiasts and music lovers. His verses came alive in a dynamic performance alongside Rodrigues and Rebello, making for an unforgettable experience,” shared Akriti Tyagi, director, marketing and corporate communications, HarperCollins. En route to Delhi, the poet seems to have his heart set on taking the stage by storm with his latest work.

Finding freedom in the mind

Listening Air, 2019/22. Pic Courtesy/Ishara Art Foundation

For artist Shilpa Gupta, the secret to freedom is in the mind. The Sir JJ School of Fine Arts alumna will launch her sculpture, Still They Know Not What I Dream at The Yard, Alserkal Avenue in Dubai on April 13. The work, commissioned by Alserkal Art Foundation ‘explores agency and freedom in a time of growing surveillance and control’, she shared with us. The work is presented in parallel to Gupta’s ongoing exhibition, Shilpa Gupta: Lines of Flight, at the Ishara Art Foundation, Dubai. “Growing up as a woman in South Asia, one becomes aware of lines early on. And where boundaries exist, methods to navigate and negotiate them inevitably emerge,” Gupta added.

Shilpa Gupta

Elvis will return to Bandra

Curmally at a performance. Pic Courtesy/Mehmood Curmally

We might as well say Elvis has entered the building, when tribute artiste Mehmood Curmally takes stage at the St Anne’s Church in Bandra on April 26. Among handpicked Gospel songs, Curmally will present Why Me Lord, one of Presley’s own favourites. “Elvis loved to perform it live alongside co-composer JD Sumner, who had an inimitable bass tone. Rest assured, I’ve found my own Sumner in a familiar city personality for the big day,” Curmally teased, adding that plans to take Elvis to suburbs like Malad and Vakola soon are on the cards.

Green voices for Mumbai

Dia Mirza, Radha Goenka, (Top) Araan Patel and Nyrika Holkar

Tardeo’s Victoria Memorial School for the Blind will be the venue for a few committed Mumbaikars at a session called Greening Mumbai: A Blueprint for Urban Renewal talk today. “It will be a dynamic conversation to figure out how to green the city, and also ideate ways on how the reclaimed spaces such as the ones along the Coastal Road can be greened,” Mamta Mangaldas of Friends of Mumbai Coastal-Forest Park that hosts the session, shared. With names such as actor Dia Mirza, Nyrika Holkar (executive director, Godrej Enterprises Group), Radha Goenka (director, RPG Foundation), Aaran Patel (executive director, climate, Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation) and Deepti Talpade (urban climate resilience expert, WRI India), the perspectives will be diverse, and hopefully 
build into a movement, Mangaldas added. 

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