25 November,2020 06:11 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Satej Shinde
A herder helps move a bovine out of the way while a taxi passes in Aarey Market on Tuesday. Pic/Satej Shinde
Brinda Somaya and Abha Narain Lambah and Ayaz Basrai
For a profession that is responsible for one of the basic needs of human life - shelter - not many of us have insight into the building blocks of architecture. That's exactly what industry stalwarts are coming together to discuss at a forum starting this weekend. It's called the India Design Forum (IDF) Debates and has been curated by Rajshree Pathy and Mrinalini Ghadiok. For four weeks, a session will be held every Saturday and the line-up includes Brinda Somaya, Abha Narain Lambah, Ayaz Basrai, among others. Elaborating on the significance of the platform, Basrai shared, "I believe we're at a very crucial and extremely interesting juncture in architecture and design. We're increasingly questioning what we're surrounded by and whether this is a context of our choosing - be it in the built environment, the political and cultural landscape, or the fluidly merging disciplines that surround us."
The pandemic sure slumped food businesses but it did give restaurateurs time to regroup and make expansion plans too. Take Zorawar Kalra for instance, who has brought Mumbai's much-loved chef Kelvin Cheung - who left for New Delhi after his infamous Bastian exit in July 2019 - on board as culinary director for all his non-Indian brands. Their first collaborative venture is Faan, where KelC will dish out food inspired from his Chinese lineage. "No modern theatrics but it will introduce Kelvin's food from his soul," reveals Kalra, adding, "The restaurant opens mid-December at Victoria Mills in Lower Parel, and is an ode to Cheung's culinary roots."
It's no secret that ever since the virus made its way into the world, it has wreaked havoc on economies, homes and lives. So, this Friday, non-profit organisation Apnalaya, that has served in the city's poorest areas, is organising Apna Adda on Zoom, an event to foster dialogue on various aspects of urban life through artistic expression. And performers include actor Danish Husain and poet Husain Haidry, among others. About the idea, CEO Arun Kumar (inset) said, "We are bringing together poets, professors, rappers from the slums, singers and workers from the development space, all to discuss where we were when the poor got hit by the COVID-19 induced lockdown." Log on to bit.ly/ApnaAddaApnalaya to register.
India's popular automobile art festival is all set to kick off this week in an all-new digital avatar. The Cartist festival this year will exhibit unique art creations by talented folks from different cities on the theme of sustainability. The four-day festival will be live-streaming 100 artists as they create artwork on vehicles. It will also feature workshops where experts will help attendees master intricate art forms like Madhubani, Gond art, calligraphy as well as water colouring. "We are excited about the festival, as it will bring experts, artists, performers and art enthusiasts from across the country on one platform. We also have on board musicians such as Daira, Fuzz Culture, Vikalp Sharma and Yusuf Khan Bapang who will be putting up sensational performances to wow our virtual audiences," Himanshu Jangid, founder, Cartist, shared.
Paro Anand and Kapil Sibal
Mumbaikars now have a chance of being part of Nagpur's Orange City Literature Fest. Founded in 2019 and touted as central India's biggest literary festival, the three-day event is now going online this Friday with a diverse line-up of speakers. While politician Kapil Sibal will address the state of affairs pertaining to the country's legal system, journalist Boria Majumdar will talk about how COVID-19 changed world sport. Author Paro Anand will take sessions for children and there's also a musical evening with Mame Khan scheduled. "We had a footfall of about 3,000 people last year, most of them collegians. We are confident of receiving a good response this year, too," team member Snehal Watkar said. Log on to oclfnagpur.com to register.
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