The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Satej Shinde
Just Marine Drive things
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From the man practising yoga to the two resting dogs and the onlooker, the frame encapsulates a typical morning at the city’s favourite promenade
Run for the environment
Participants at a previous run
Juhu-based Vivekananda Youth Connect Foundation along with Mission Green Mumbai are organising the ninth edition of the Mumbai Sustainability Run on February 2 to promote sustainable practices and physical fitness. “The walkathon is a movement to inspire people to take part in environmental conservation. By blending physical fitness with sustainability, we want to create a sense of responsibility towards the planet,” Dr Rajesh Sarwadnya, founder, told this diarist. Those keen to join can log on to @vivekanandayouthconnect on Instagram for more details.
Catch them young
Children pore over books at the store
In a bid to move the young generation away from devices and introduce them to reading, Bandra-based bookstore Fictionary has started two children’s book clubs — Tiny Tales for three to seven-year-olds, and Page Turners for children in the age group of eight to 11 years. “We started these clubs to introduce children to the joys of reading early on, foster a love for books, and create a space for them to explore stories,” Anup Nair, founder, told this diarist. Held every Tuesday and Thursday, the clubs intend to cultivate critical thinking skills in youngsters through community engagement. “Reading is usually an isolated activity but the real fun begins when one gets to share insights with other equally invested people. With the help of the community discussions, readers will be able to widen their perspectives, enhance listening skills and express their own opinion,” Yashasvi Vachhani (inset), writer and facilitator of the clubs, shared with this diarist.
Mukund takes Vegas
(From left) A moment from a set choreographed by Suresh Mukund. Pic courtesy/Andres Puerta; Mukund (second from left) with rapper 50 cent at a rehearsal
Vasai-based choreographer Suresh Mukund recently choreographed a set of six performances for American rapper and actor, Curtis James Jackson aka 50 Cent, as part of his tour, The Final Lap in Las Vegas. This break came as a bounce back for Mukund, as he was going through financial trouble in 2022. When Jackson was in Mumbai for a concert in 2023, Anthony Kin, the head choreographer of the concert showed him videos of dance group Kings United, performing choreography by Mukund. The artiste then requested to see a live performance by the entire team during a tech run on stage. Kin later approached Mukund to choreograph segments of the concert featuring Kings United. “Having been deeply inspired by hip-hop from a young age, this collaboration was incredibly special to me,” Mukund told this diarist. The group performed on several iconic songs during the concert, including Big Rich Town, Like My Style, In Da Club, and more. “As a choreographer, standing in front of the stage, and seeing my dancers perform alongside such a global star was a moment of pride. When I turned around to see the packed house and the audience cheering, clapping, and giving full support, it was truly overwhelming,” he elaborated. The choreographer shared that his future plans include settling down in Los Angeles and performing alongside global artistes like Chris Brown, The Weeknd, Snoop Dogg, and others.
Mission Mars
The book’s cover features a detail from Nicholas Roerich’s painting, Dorje, the Daring One
It’s a busy time for Namita Gokhale, festival director of the Jaipur Literature Festival. Apart from helming, arguably the biggest literature spectacle on the planet, she is also busy with her just released book. Titled Life on Mars, it is a collection of 15 stories that explore the themes of love, lust, fate, and death, and brings together previously published and new short stories by the acclaimed author.
Namita Gokhale’s book features a collection of 15 stories on various themes. Pic courtesy/Bandeep Singh
“These short stories reflect very different aspects of my writing. The reader will encounter tales from my childhood and youth in Kumaon, and those plucked, retold, and interpreted from myth and epic texts, and those which tell of human folly and frailty, and of the redemption of love. Some of the recent, previously unpublished work casts very different shadows on the business of life and living,” shared Gokhale, while describing the book’s core.
The stories include tales from Gokhale’s youth in Kumaon. Pic courtesy/Wikimedia Commons
Why put together a short story collection, we ask. “Growing older, I am increasingly drawn to short form writing. I have become impatient with the whys and wherefores of lengthy novels. Readers too have different attention spans. The effort it takes to hold and carry long and complex narratives in the imagination is difficult to sustain in my scattered life. I want to get to the core of the story, to cut to the bone, as it were.”
She admits that the craft and architecture of the short story is vastly more demanding and challenging than that of the novel. “It is also more unforgiving. There is no time and tolerance for obfuscation. I want to sharpen my mind and my technique on writing short stories,” she concluded. Gokhale will discuss her book with Lucy Caldwell and Georgina Godwin at the Jaipur Literature Festival on February 2.
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