Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Parallel Lives
A worker heads to the wholesale fish market against the backdrop of a high rise on Senapati Bapat Marg in Parel.

Methodical expansion

Art gallery Method seems to be on a roll. Months after opening their Bandra outpost, they're now expanding their Kala Ghoda space to the floor below. Founder Sahil Arora shared that the expansion plan was on his mind since the beginning. "Fortunately, the space directly below Method became available. There is so much more we want to do with our curation, and most of it requires more space. We'll be able to experiment in terms of format, media, and curation," he said, adding, "Earlier, it was difficult to curate a group show due to space constraints, but now we can do it comfortably. We are happy that we will now be able to showcase more artists."

Dina Pathak's many roles

You might recognise Dina Pathak as the actor who played the role of Amol Palekar's somewhat mischievous mother in Golmaal. Or, you might remember her as the nanny who struck up a heartwarming relationship with a little girl in an episode of Malgudi Days. But there is often so little we know about what the people we see on screen are like in real life. For example, not many of us are aware that Pathak once had a job translating articles into Gujarati for Soviet Land magazine in the 1960s.

Or, that she had an active interaction with the radio, a medium which - her daughter Ratna Pathak Shah told this diarist - was as strong back in the day as the Internet is today. Pathak's grandson, Imaad Shah, shared this throwback photograph on Instagram yesterday, which was her birth anniversary, of the time she had been invited by All India Radio (AIR) to play a selection of her favourite songs. "AIR in fact invited her on several occasions, since she was great at chatting. I also remember her going off to perform plays for the radio, and even directing some," Pathak Shah reminisced, making us wonder about how many different hats one woman can wear.

And finally, the doors open

Samir and Amrita Somaiya perform a puja at Kitab Khana earlier this month

Some things are better together: song and dance, wine and cheese, and in Mumbai, bibliophiles and Kitab Khana. But the bookstore had to shutter in December since a fire broke out in its café's kitchen, leaving a devastating impact on its neatly shelved books. But it is set to open its doors again in light of their 10th anniversary on the day of Maha Shivratri, ie March 11. "The store will be open for everyone from 11 am to 5 pm. I'm happy to say it looks as good as new. A lot of people approached me for books that were affected, for a feeling of nostalgia of the Kitab Khana before the fire. So, we'll have a little section of the stock that was part of the fire but is re-sellable, available at a discounted price," owner Amrita Somaiya told this diarist. Good news, indeed.

Time for a sound editorial choice

After Kitaab, a platform to celebrate Asian writing in English, put out a call for submissions for The Best Asian Poetry 2021 anthology, Pune-based poet Arjun Rajendran (inset) has called them out for choosing poet and translator Sudeep Sen as the editor. Sen has been accused of sexual harassment. Rajendran has written an open letter to the editor of Kitaab on social media, pointing out how, three years ago, a number of poets had written to the Sahitya Akademi to withdraw their works from an anthology that was being edited by Sen for the same reason. "I saw the editor's name and freaked out. This happened before with Sahitya Akademi, but the anthology came out anyway with Sen as the editor. No action has been taken yet," he said.

Maha champs

Ashoka Young Changemakers is a programme that supports social entrepreneurs who are creating ripples of change through their work in the fields of environment, human rights, conservation, healthcare, education and agriculture. We're happy to report that of the 19 teenagers selected for the second global edition of the programme from 12 states, are 17-year-old Sanskruti Dalavi (left) from Satara, and Omkar Ganu (right), 21, a Punekar. While Dalavi runs Shram Daan, which implemented rainwater harvesting in her village to raise the groundwater level, Ganu's Sagar Seva conducts dissolved oxygen testing in the local rivers to keep plastic accumulation in the ocean in check.

Yashveer Singh, global director of the programme, said the candidates will get access to a global platform to share their journey, influence the youth and redefine what success means. "Young people play a key role in building a better tomorrow. Along with their drive to do good, these changemakers bring a diversity of fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to the challenges the world faces," he added.