Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Lights off, says Shikhar Dhawan
Earth Hour 2016 will be observed today from 8.30 to 9.30 pm (IST). This means that eco-sensitive cricket fans of the Indo-Pak T20 match might end up having to watch the game in pitch darkness, with just the telly set on.

Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan at an event in New Delhi last month. Pic/AFP

Endorsing this is cricketer Shikhar Dhawan who is associated with the Earth Hour cause. Dhawan said, "Like cricket, Earth Hour brings people together." He asked cricket fans to switch off all non-essential lights for the hour and watch the India-Pakistan tie in the dark.

Incidentally, the Earth Hour initiative marks a decade today. It is an awareness campaign for climate change, which tells people around the world to switch their lights off at the same designated hour.

Watching telly in the dark is all very well, Shikhar, but hope our boys in blue don't do a repeat showing (remember the drubbing against NZ in the opener?). In that worst case scenario, Earth Hour or not, darkness is bound to descend on diehard India fans. For their sake, we dearly hope that when the lights get switched back on, there's enough reason for India's billions to cheer.

Model appearance
He was at his candid best at a conclave in Delhi yesterday.

Now, a little birdie tells us that Sanju Baba will walk the ramp with Manisha Koirala tomorrow, for politician-designer Shaina NC's show, in aid of cancer patients. Like his box-office successes, let's see if the Bollywood hunk can pull off a runway success.

Incarnations, India and much more
Senior editor Kumar Ketkar (right) chats with Sunil Khilnani (left), author of Incarnations: India in 50 Lives, and Rahul Mehrotra.

Pic/Bipin Kokate

Khilnani was in the city to speak at a conference titled, Windows+Mirrors, part of The State of Architecture event at NGMA.

The ‘Super' Lilly is here

Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Also called Superwoman, Internet sensation and comedian Lilly Singh was spotted clicking selfies with fans at the YouTube Fanfest in Worli last evening.

The princess and her driving force
Princess Vidita Singh, from the royal family of Barwani in Madhya Pradesh, happens to be one of the first women artists to pursue automotive art in India.

(Left-right) A speeding Cadillac; Princess Vidita Singh at work

Set to open on March 31 at Tardeo's India Fine Art Gallery, her debut solo exhibition will feature vintage cars in Indian settings, including a Lancia at a Polo game, a Bentley in a wedding procession, and a Cadillac on a narrow road. She has created these using oil on canvas, charcoal and water colours.

"Getting the proportions right against the background is the most difficult task. After the basic subject is painted, I add the details," shares Singh. Surrounded by automotive enthusiasts, Singh got hooked to cars early.
Her father, HH Rana Manvendra Singh is a pioneer in automotive restoration. The princess has a long association with Mumbai.

"I have so many good memories of Mumbai spent with my grandfather. He would drive around in his Cadillac; I vividly recall him speeding on Marine Drive in it! We spent all our summer holidays here as children. By the way, there is a strong connection between vintage cars and this city as Bombay was a free port and the place where the cars would first arrive. We would have to come all the way here to see these amazing cars, which was an experience in itself," she recalls.

Sabya stamp on your walls
For the first time since it was established in 1999, Colaba's vibrant store Design Temple has invited a collaborator for its show, Wallspeak.

(Left-right) Divya Thakur, Sabyasachi Mukherjee

In a jugalbandi of sorts, it plays tango with Nilaya, the artistic wallcovering brand from a popular paint manufacturer. Think designer walls, a few of which are courtesy, Sabyasachi Mukherjee that interact with Raja Ravi Verma lithographs, studio portraiture, wall calendars and authentic bromides.

Wallspeak is a quick art and design history lesson on the walls, from oleographs dating back to the 1930s, to calendar art from the 1970s. But, what may seem like a vintage collection is not. "Wallcoverings that interact with art is a contemporary idea. Wallspeak is an exploration of our identity," says Divya Thakur, Design Temple's creative director and show curator, adding that she is glad to share wallspace with creative friend Sabyasachi, whose works "move between fashion and home, just like how we do."

My father's daughter
Yesterday was cine legend Shashi Kapoor's 78th birthday.

File pic

Here's a tender moment between him and daughter, Sanjna Kapoor. This was captured last year, during his felicitation for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu.