Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Birds of a feather

With noise and air pollution less than usual in Mumbai, birds like these parakeets chirping around bird feeders in a Kandivali building are making the most of it. Pic/Satej Shinde

Lockdown finds a stage

Lillete Dubey and Shobha De

Acclaimed actor, producer and theatre director, Lillete Dubey, has acquired the theatrical rights to best-selling author Shobhaa De's Lockdown Liaisons (Simon & Schuster). "Ira [Dubey's daughter] and I did a performative reading for one of the stories, Lockdown Funeral. Shobhaa and I had spoken in the past about collaborating, but it wasn't until this reading that it really took shape. When I read the stories, I felt that it would lend itself beautifully to a stage production in the form of monologues. And the book is an incredible documentation of a period that will become part of history. Our world has shifted, and I don't think it's ever going to come back to what it was. What is equally beautiful is how her stories have voices from across classes and age groups. From a migrant worker who has to walk hundreds of kilometres to a young couple whose relationship is falling apart. The stories have a universal appeal because we've all lived through this pandemic. So it'll be interesting," Dubey told this diarist. De is delighted that Dubey, who she regards as one of our most creative, productive and passionate theatre personalities, will be doing this: "I have known her work for over 30 years and have great respect for it. I know that she will do full justice to the voices of the story. And as an admirer of her productions, especially Dance like a Man, it gives me enormous confidence that the voices of Lockdown Liaisons will be heard loud and clear," De shared.

A braille-ient idea, this

The world of advertising has always actively relied on visuals, colours and graphics. But White Print, India's first English lifestyle magazine in braille, has been pushing this boundary to work on ads that appeal to those from the visually challenged community. As the magazine gets back to publishing after the easing of lockdown norms, founder Upasana Makati tells us that they want to take this idea to smaller brands, too. "Having already worked with bigger brands, we know advertising costs are high. The pandemic has been a challenging period. So, we thought that if we invite smaller brands and charge them just '5,000, we can enable them to reach out to the community and spread awareness. Lots of young brands aren't even aware of this concept of advertising. The idea is to create interesting copy using sounds and text as India is home to the largest visua-lly impaired population in the world."

Enter the golden era

Pic/Bikramjit Bose

Last year, towards the end of an interview with William Dalrymple for his book, The Anarchy, this diarist had nudged him to reveal about his next, to which he excitedly shared that its core would explore ancient Indian cultures and religions, and how they impacted the rest of the world. Recently, the author took to social media to share more on the book that would take at least two years to complete, he added. Titled The Golden Road, it will include sections that chronicle how Indian art travelled towards Central Asia, how religions like Buddhism and Hinduism spread to different parts of Asia, as well as a section that we are particularly looking forward to - how Indian mathematics reached Europe.

Raise a toast to Charles Correa

If you're a fan of master architect Charles Correa, here's a great way to celebrate his 90th birthday that falls today. The Charles Correa Foundation announced the third of a biennial lecture series to salute his legacy. The intention will be to establish a biennial celebration of architecture in India in Goa, home of the foundation. The 2020 Charles Correa Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Mirai Chatterjee, director of the social security team at SEWA (Self-Employed Women's Association). Other speakers include cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote and architect Swarnabh Ghosh. You and Your Neighbourhood, Correa's Master's Thesis at MIT in 1955, an animated film for which he was the scriptwriter, animator, photographer and director, will also be screened. Check the foundation's website for a detailed itinerary.

Roadmap to water world

A newly drafted map has been doing the rounds these days. This, we suspect, might not find mention in primary school geography textbooks. A meme that highlights the pathetic condition of Mumbai's roads takes a sharp swipe at the city's civic authorities who tom-tommed about being monsoon-ready in the early days of the lockdown. At that time, information was shared of how thanks to zero traffic and crowds, they were able to repair roads and fill up all potholes. Now comes this tweet (among many others) posted by Mumbai Matterz, a local platform that highlights civic issues. They named the potholes after all the lakes that supply water to the city, with a cheeky caption: "This is a stunning photograph of all the lakes of Mumbai in one frame…captured at MIDC road no. 11, Andheri East."

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