Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

He's goat what he wants

A boy plays with a sacrificial goat ahead of Bakr Eid, in Madanpura on Wednesday. Pic/Shadab Khan

Queer pitch

The Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is one of the largest film events for the LGBTQ community in the country. The festival had to be moved online this year, and it closes today with Hum Bhi Akele Tum Bhi Akele, billed as the first mainstream Indian film that features LGBTQ protagonists of the opposite sex.

Harish Vyas has helmed it, while the movie stars Anshuman Jha and Zareen Khan, who essay the roles of a gay man and a lesbian woman who set off for a road trip from Delhi to McLeodganj. Speaking about its inclusion at Kashish, where the theme this year was 'Moving Forward, Together', Jha told this diarist, "We are looking forward to showing the film to a whole new set of people and awaiting their feedback on our passion project."

When it rained music and dance

Ricky Kej

Mumbaikars are as accustomed to monsoon showers as Scandinavians are to snow, and an event commemorated the phenomenon of rainfall. International organisation Earth Day Network (EDN) hosted it to mark World Rain Day yesterday, and it featured 30 artistes from 20 countries focusing on the theme.

Bombay Jayashri performed at the event

They included Grammy winner Ricky Kej and Carnatic music doyen Bombay Jayashri. Karuna Singh of EDN said, "We hope that viewers are informed that rains are essential to replenish our soil and sustain agriculture."

Taking a rap

Calling all rappers. B3OpenSeason, one of the country's premier rap battles, has been shifted online this year, and the organisers are calling for one-minute entries from interested people.

New record label 4NCÂ¥ that hip-hop biggie Pa4n of UK group Foreign Beggars founded is sponsoring it, and he told this diarist, "The last date for entries is August 17, and those in the first phase will be judged on the basis of punch lines and bars." If you think you have what it takes, log on to @battlebarsbombay on Instagram and spit a few rhymes.

Gen Z can't wait to east fast food

The last time we had a dine-in meal at a fast food outlet might seem like a distant memory. But the results of a recent survey show that one-third of the respondents can't wait to relive that experience. UK-based firm YouGov conducted it in June among 1,000 urban Indians."

Thirteen per cent said that they are keen to visit a fast-food eatery in the next one month, while 20 per cent said that they would like to do so within three months. GenZ respondents were most inclined (43 per cent), while millennial and GenX ones accounted for 32 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively. We'll have to wait and watch how and if the government reacts to such surveys.

Artsy debut for Meghna Prakash

The founder of Poetry Dialogue, a platform that promotes daily poetry for accessibility of poems and publishing opportunities, Meghna Prakash (below) is out with her debut collection of poetry titled Trigger Warning: Poems of Love and Resistance (Hawakal Publishers).

"It's a collection of 60 poems I've written over the years. I am a survivor of violence and the way I look at the world is very different; a lot of things are triggering for me. This title is about facing violence, loving someone externally and loving yourself," Prakash told this diarist.

The spirit of the book has been brought out beautifully with an illustrated cover by artist Priyanka Paul (above) who added that the poet gave her a free reign. "She's a very visual poet, and I wanted to do justice to that. I included many of the elements that were important to her - her cats, polaroids of moments in her life and prayer flags."

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