Mumbai diary: Wednesday Dossier

Nushrat Bharucha on a film set in Goregaon

Straying in character

Nushrat Bharucha seems unperturbed by this little fellow's interest in her heels on a film set in Goregaon on Tuesday. Pic /Satej Shinde

All lined up

When it started 10 years ago, NH7 Weekender opened up the floodgates for the many music festivals that the Indian events calendar is packed with at present. So, considering that the event is entering its 10th anniversary this year, fans couldn't contain their excitement about who the headlining act would be. That mystery has now been solved, with the organisers announcing that Swedish progressive metal giants Opeth and Nick Murphy (formerly known as Chet Faker) will be the biggest draws at the Pune edition. Another international act to watch out for is American hip-hop duo EarthGang.

The daddies' club

It's no secret that Mumbai-based designer Masaba Gupta and chef Pooja Dhingra are good friends who hang out pretty often, going by their social media uploads where they both support each other's ventures, besides setting #friendshipgoals. But what neither of them was aware of was the fact that their fathers had met each other in their prime decades ago - something Dhingra stumbled upon recently. "Masaba and I had no idea that our dads had met. I randomly found this picture in my father's office a few days ago. This was around 20 years ago when he used to own a Mexican restaurant called Sheriff on Linking Road in Bandra. A party had been organised there and Masaba's father [legendary West Indies batsman Sir Viv Richards] had come for that.

My dad clicked it and had kept it in his office. I immediately clicked a picture and sent it to Masaba because it was funny and sweet; as if life had come full circle," Dhingra told this diarist.

An equal access

City-based Xavier's Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged (XRCVC) has consistently worked towards creating awareness about what life without the gift of sight is like, and making it better. Now, the organisation has lent its support to Sightsavers, an international charity working to prevent avoidable blindness and support equality for people with disabilities. As part of the charity's global campaign to urge the United Nations through various governments to give disability rights their due, XRCVC is requesting the Government of India to make all public places accessible by 2025. To support the cause, sign the petition on campaigning.sightsavers.org by selecting India as your country.

Adieu, Mumbai

Kamini Sawhney, who has served as curator, Jehangir Nicholson Gallery of Modern Art in the CSMVS museum, since 2011, is moving on to a new assignment in Bengaluru. A letter from the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation yesterday acknowledged her "significant contribution in developing and promoting activities" of the gallery in different areas, including mounting 19 exhibitions and collaborations with Tate, the Duke University Libraries, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and TIFR (the rare occasion when the research institutes's collection was made available for public viewing). "It's been wonderful to see JNAF find a place on the cultural map of Mumbai," Sawhney told this diarist. About her new innings in Bengaluru, she said that she will now be director, Museum of Art and Photography, where one of her focus areas will be making its collection accessible to all. Here's wishing her the best in her new role.

Be an adult

Isn't it strange that an entire generation of people who complained about school and college lectures are incidentally also the folks hooked to podcasts? Well, that's the strange thing about adulting and a new podcast called Agla Station Adulthood hopes to shed light on the many facets of this tumultous-yet-beautiful stage of our lives. The show will be hosted by popular TV actor Rytasha Rathode and her best friend and professional in trade and commerce industries, Ayushi Amin. Rathode and Amin will be sharing their own experiences, whether it's the perils of growing up, the challenges of adult life, or the mistakes we make that help us learn more, which makes it sound a whole lot more relatable and interesting than school and college lectures.

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