Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Bipin Kokate

Lockdown ke baad

Familiar scenes return as Mumbai unlocks, like that of a couple enjoying the sea breeze in the backdrop of Haji Ali Dargah on Monday. Pic/Bipin Kokate

A kind musical gesture

It was a surprise for celebrated dancer Astad Deboo, when collaborator and Berlin-based percussionist and whistler Ravi Srinivasan decided to dedicate a fundraising concert to Deboo's foundation. Scheduled for Friday, the now sold-out show is part of a series that Srinivasan has held to raise funds for artistes.

"I was extremely touched by a fellow artiste taking this on. He is aware of my work, and has contributed to the foundation in the past. His artiste friends have agreed to support performers outside Europe, too," Deboo told this diarist, adding, "I am supporting a group of contemporary dancers from Manipur, my group of drummers from Manipur, dancers from Delhi and my hearing-impaired students from Mumbai."

Find your own indie match

The folks behind Maed in India, a podcast dedicated to Indian independent music, have developed a fun filter on Instagram called Quar-indie, as part of their fifth anniversary celebrations.

The idea is to find out through a random algorithm which indie artiste you should be quarantined with. Mae Mariam, who hosts the show, told us that it was her partner Shaun Fanthome who came up with the idea, and Fanthome in turn said, "I wanted indie artistes to remember how they would collaborate and show that we are all in this together." This diarist tried the app and got singer-songwriter Mali as his choice. Give it a go to find your own quarantine match.

Cause matters more

Prakash M Nadar poses with the award

Worli resident Prakash M Nadar has held multiple records under his belt including creating a world record of donating blood 100 times across 18 states in the country. This week, he donated blood for the 117th time and was awarded the COVID Warrior Award along with 31 administrative officers at a donation camp in Sanpada, organised by Mavla Pratishthan Maharashtra State in collaboration with the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation Administration, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra's Health Minister, Rajesh Tope.

"I feel like people don't realise the value of blood only because it is donated for free. But with or without Coronavirus, the requirement for blood will always be there. Right now everyone is so scared to donate but it can definitely be done safely without any tension. A vaccine may be found at some point in the future but people are still dying because of no access to blood. Therefore, it is important that we be one step ahead and that's why I want to keep spreading awareness," Nadar told this diarist.

When the arts come to the rescue

Taking a cue from the effect that the ongoing pandemic has had on artistes, Ahmedabad-based Neekoe Foundation is calling for proposals from young artistes across the country (under 35) with radical thoughts, for a grant. Mentored by visual artist Sharmila Samant and theatre stalwart Amitesh Grover, it will accept applications till July 15.

"The crisis has made arts practices and artistes vulnerable. The grant enables especially young artistes to pursue their practice without losing hope. It embraces all kinds of work including visual arts, theatre, dance and more," Grover told this diarist, adding, "It also encourages experimental practice and alternate ways to disseminate work."

Food becomes the Insta canvas

Mallika Chandra's recreates Jagdish Swaminathan's work

Here's some inspiration for the kitchen. Titled Canvas to Plate, the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation's new series on Instagram aims to use their art collection as a point of culinary inspiration. The foundation has collaborated with artists, chefs and food bloggers to respond to artworks from their collection. The result: artist Jagdish Swaminathan's ordered colour-geometry piece was recreated by another artist, Mallika Chandra, using vegetables.

Explaining the thought behind the series, exhibition manager Kamna Anand said, "People are spending more time in the kitchen now, and we wanted to do something engaging around food. Up next, we'll have Karishma Shah and chef Anuroopa Banerjee Gupta present their takes on other artworks. It's a way to look at how important food is and how it's interpreted in our lives."

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