Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Can we play horsy?

A little girl tries getting on to her guardian's back as he bows outside Wadala's Vitthal Mandir still out of bounds for devotees. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Ghar ka khana delivered

For those who are partial to ghar ka khaana but aren't the best cooks, living away from home can be difficult. Take for instance actor Anuj Sachdeva, who's still looking for the perfect dal makhani in Mumbai. This is why Sachdeva and his friend, Priyanka Pereira, wanted to make home-cooked food accessible to all. Their two-year-old idea is now taking shape with a delivery service called Chef on Wheels. From Tulu to Marwari fare, the initiative brings together over 30 regional home chefs across Mumbai.

"The idea is to connect people who are fond of food, and keep it authentic. And who better than home chefs to do that?" Sachdeva told this diarist. Every week, they will curate a new menu consisting of different cuisines. "The food will be cooked by the chefs, and we'll deliver it. The aim is to mirror the ghar ka khana experience, especially at a time like this," Pereira added.

Win for Indian art

Mumbai girl and creative director of Tao Art Gallery, Sanjana Shah, has made quite the splash in the art circuit. The 25-year-old has been selected as the India ambassador for the prestigious Arte Laguna Prize, an international art competition held in Venice for emerging artists.

"It is an honour to be able to represent contemporary Indian art and help emerging artists from the country gain exposure on an international platform like this. Local art needs to grow and interact with a global audience. The hope is to encourage young creators, who have talent and passion but lack logistical aid, to make their own mark in the global art scene," she told this diarist, excited to explore the variety of talent this country has to offer, work closely with artists, and look forward to a positive future of creative expression.

These indie music folks are tuned in together

Now more than ever before is the time for the independent music industry to rally around together, given how tough things are. That's why the launch of a new initiative called Indie Music Allies is, well, music to our ears.

The idea is to build a space for members to feed off each other's core skills so that everyone can get a leg-up within the 'scene'. The founders include city-based harpist Nush Lewis and music journalist Amit Gurbaxani, who told this diarist, "We have already got applications from a bunch of musicians from across the country, apart from artist managers, booking agents, sound engineers, lawyers, photographers and other industry professionals."

Paw-some news from Alibaug

The need for organisations and initiatives to go digital cannot be understated right now. Although The Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD), Alibaug, was set up in August 2019, it made its debut on Instagram earlier this week. The first post is about a little canine named Luke who walked into their sterilisation centre on a rainy night. He was found in the morning by the caretaker, whimpering in pain and hunger, with a maggot wound on his back, severely malnourished and covered in ticks and fleas. But Luke was nursed back to health and is now de-wormed, vaccinated and ready for adoption.

"As we are the only animal welfare NGO in Alibaug, we thought that information about the various rescues, on-site first-aid, adoptions and the sterilisation programme can be disseminated here so that more animals can be benefited. We have also been distributing food during the lockdown, and have already distributed 31,000 kgs of horse feed apart from feeding street dogs in and around Alibaug. The project is headed by Rekha Dixit who has been working here for animal welfare for long," Abodh Aras, CEO, WSD, told this diarist.

Get ready to GIF

An untitled Kalighat pat painting showing a cat stealing a prawn that can be made into a GIF

There's good news for art and cultural heritage enthusiasts. DAG Museums, The Heritage Lab and web portal Europeana have announced India's first GIF-it-up contest which celebrates art through GIFs. Yesterday, DAG Museums released 13 artworks under the CC by SA license, which basically means that participants can re-interpret and remix them without breaking any copyright laws.

Europeana has conducted a global GIF contest since 2013 but this is the first time that they've come on board with a unique idea for India. There are tutorials provided and prizes to be won as well. About the initiative, Medhavi Gandhi, founder of The Heritage Lab, told this diarist, "It is open to anyone above nine years. We are excited to involve schoolchildren in the hope that they will learn about how licensing and copyrights work. We are setting off a chain of creation."

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