08 March,2020 06:40 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Satej Shinde
Kareena and Karisma Kapoor give mother Babita a helping hand during the screening of a movie at a Juhu theatre over the weekend. Pic/Satej Shinde
Mumbai's General Post Office celebrated Women's Day in the best possible manner, by inaugurating four all-women post offices in the city, at Wadala, PH Colony, Seepz and Ambewadi. The inaugurations were digitally done, in a first for the GPO. Not just that, all postmen offered chocolates and flowers in order to welcome their female colleagues.
Female GPO staffers pose for a selfie with Swati Pandey (in green). Pic/Ashish Raje
Talking about the initiative, Swati Pandey, postmaster general of Mumbai, said, "This little gesture was meant to make every woman feel special, irrespective of caste, creed or financial status."
There was an event held to mark Woman's Day that the Spastic Society of India organised, where actor Kalki Koechlin and director Shonali Bose spoke on the theme, 'Women matter'. New mom Koechlin dropped in to talk about what a difficult task motherhood is, given the number of responsibilities a woman with a newborn is saddled with.
The interesting bit, though, was that she - along with four other panelists including disability rights activist Malini Chib - performed a special 'wheelchair dance' that they had rehearsed for, where Chib, who is wheelchair-bound, took centre stage.
Talking about the event, Koechlin told this diarist, "It was heartening to hear the stories of so many women who fought society's invisible eye towards women who don't conform, because of their body, age or choice of career. Ultimately, women who share their unique stories will change the way society stereotypes and boxes them." We agree.
Stu Larsen is a mellifluous singer-songwriter from Australia who is in the city to play a gig. But his first 24 hours in India were a roller-coaster ride since the venue he was originally supposed to play at, Rule 34 in Chandivali, told him once he had landed in Mumbai that they have cancelled the show due to "technical reasons", a dubious claim given that they replaced his set with a local band's. Larsen then used his social media account to reach out to Mumbai's music community, asking if someone could arrange an alternative venue.
That plea for help was answered by Rahul Rohra of Veranda in Bandra, who told Larsen that the venue has gigs every Saturday and the musician could perform over the weekend. "He's a good international act and he told us that he just wants to play, nothing else. So we opened our doors for him since we are always looking to help music grow in the city," Rohra said. We like.
Barry John has upheld the cause of thespians for decades, having founded Theatre Action Group in 1973, which has alumni members like Shah Rukh Khan and Manoj Bajpai.
No wonder then that Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards has decided to confer him with the lifetime achievement honour. "Having hung up my boots some years ago, it comes as a surprise to be remembered and awarded, especially given the distinguished list of past awardees," the 76-year-old said of the news.
Days after the Tata Institute of Social Sciences administration denied permission to screen Anand Patwardhan's documentary Ram Ke Naam, it refused to allow students to hold a book reading of actor Sudhanva Deshpande's book, Halla Bol: The Death and Life of Safdar Hashmi, would be read out.
A pic from the book Halla Bol: The Death and Life of Safdar Hashmi
Speaking to this diarist, Deshpande said the event, scheduled for last weekend, was organised by the students. "They were told that till further notice, all student-organised activities stand cancelled. I find it extraordinary that a premier institute to study the social sciences is disallowing students to discuss a book of contemporary history. What can you say?"
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