The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Sajna Hai Mujhe...
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All decked up, a young woman readies for a photoshoot in a park in Vashi, Navi Mumbai
Band of ‘brothers’ is one short
Anil Joshi. Pic/Satej Shinde
After his May 16, 2024 annual party which he throws for his friends, India and Mumbai teammates across all levels and seniors, India’s cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar said in an Instagram post that his bash wouldn’t have been possible if not for the efforts of his “two brothers”—Milind Rege and Anil Joshi.
Gavaskar’s childhood buddy Rege passed away earlier this week at 76 and so he won’t be around at this year’s get-together. But Joshi, whom Gavaskar has known since the 1970s when the wicketkeeper-batsman was in the same Nirlon team as him, will continue to be chief coordinator of the gathering usually held in Harish Thawani’s Indus Club at BKC. The May 2024 bash missed the presence of cricketers Avinash Karnik and Tukaram Surve, both of whom passed away at the start of that year. Now, Rege will be thoroughly missed. Not so Sunny days, but life goes on.
The force behind Famous
Alick Sethi
He’s a DJ, he has a PhD, and he’s the force who supervised the music of Yo Yo Honey Singh’s documentary Famous, released on Netflix in December 2024. Music Supervisor Alick Sethi, founder of Retox Music, has over 20 years of experience in the field, and “works with scores and composers, and with sync and licensing”, as he puts it. For Famous, Sethi recalls, “As the documentary footage was coming in, we realised that Honey was very open with his life outside of music; his philosophy, thinking, and emotions. The story was one with themes that affect everyone—mental health, judgment from society, self-belief, not giving up.”
The art of snooping
We’ve all had that nosy uncle or aunty snoop on our phones and newspapers on the local train. Most of us look at it as an annoyance and forget about it the moment we get off the train.
Ritesh Uttamchandani’s series of photos now feature in his new zine, Snoops On A Train. Pic/Ritesh Uttamchandani
Photographer Ritesh Uttamchandani decided to turn it into art. How? Why, with some good old snooping of his own! Between 2011 and 2021, he shot a series of photos which now feature in his new zine, Snoops On A Train. “They’re so engrossed in their own snooping that they don’t realise there’s somebody snooping on them as well. It’s a triangle of sorts,” he tells this diarist.
Ritesh Uttamchandani. Pic/Ajit Solanki
The zine is not just a commentary on the lack of privacy in public spaces, but also on the shared sense of community that came from these exchanges. “If I’m reading the city pages, and the person opposite is reading whatever they see—maybe the sports section— we might discuss headlines; it’s like a conversation starter. Nowadays, though, every person is an island, stuck on their devices.” The zine can be ordered via his Instagram and his website.
Of seeing and spirituality
Mystics and medicine joined hands at the Mahakumbh
The most visible participants of the ongoing Mahakumbh mela in Prayagraj turned their popularity to a good cause. An eye test was inscribed on the ash-smeared bodies of Naga sadhus, as part of the Eyebetes Foundation’s movement to test and protect Indians from diabetes-induced blindness.
The foundation, spearheaded by Mumbai eye surgeon and philanthropist Dr Nishant Kumar, set out to create awareness for this largely preventable crisis. Their camp at the Sangam site offers free screening for diabetes and other causes of preventable blindness.
Get your art fix
Oil paintings and sculptures are on display at Jehangir Art Gallery
You might not have heard much about them but this year, the Art Society of India located in Opera House is celebrating 107 years. The existence of the society itself began as a rebellion, as it was formed in 1918 with the intention to stand up against the then predominant British art institutes that practised Western art. The exhibition is being held at Jehangir Art Gallery, today and tomorrow (February 24), 11 am to 7 pm. The works on display are oil paintings as well as sculptures—a total of 170 from the 2,000 entries sent by artists around the country.
Ravindra Kajari
Chairman Ravindra Kajari says, “We are celebrating the works of artists handpicked from the voluminous entries and hope that Mumbaikars can take time during their weekend to enjoy art and support Indian artists and their work.” The entries are from those whose love for their art surpasses what they do for a living, explains Kajari. “Our society’s members as well as those who submit their work to us can be working professionals, students and artists. The society was built to embrace everyone who has something to say,” he quips. So what are you waiting for? Head on over to Jehangir to get some food for your soul.
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