Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pic/Bipin Kokate

She's taking notes

A child watches a group of flautists rehearsing on Thursday for an event at the Asiatic Society of Mumbai steps in Fort.

Mumbai gets a ray of sunshine from Goa

The king and queen arrive at the carnival's venue

A little ray from the Sunshine State shines upon Mumbai every year when the city's Goan Outreach Association holds its annual carnival. But the dark days of the past two years meant that there was a lull in the festivities. The good news is that the event returned this year at the Holy Cross High School grounds in Kurla, bigger and stronger than before. "Earlier, we'd have about 250 to 300 people. But we had over 700 attendees this year," shared Wency Perreira, president of the association abbreviated as GOA, an obvious pun. These attendees were greeted by a symbolic king and queen, with the king reading out from a ‘regal' scroll about how impressed he was with the way his ‘subjects' handled the pandemic, before declaring the carnival open. There were prizes for people in the best fancy dress, headgear, and body paint. A musical performance captured the essence of Konkani songs. Beatboxers added a sense of rhythm to the proceeds. And a woman who calls herself Succourine Bai added mirth with her witty jokes and one-liners. All in all, it seemed as if people in the city were having genuine fun together out in the open again.

Hills are alive

The festival venue in Kasol

The end of March is when Mumbaikars start feeling the oppressive summer sun. If you want to escape that, head for a new festival called Music in the Mountains, which is debuting in Kasol, Himachal Pradesh, on March 26. It features a line-up of indie musicians including Sambit Chatterjee, a city-based percussionist. "I was staying [in the hilly region] and felt that if there is a festival there that's got quality music, it will work," shared Ritwik Sen, the organiser.

A nice way to honour Nandu Natekar

Sports administrators are not spared by critics when they depart from the right path while looking after their respective disciplines. But the Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA) is set to earn appreciation from the sporting fraternity for honouring late legend Nandu Natekar, who passed away last July. The Maharashtra Senior Badminton Championships now have the words ‘Nandu Natekar Memorial' attached to it. Natekar's son Gaurav, the erstwhile India tennis player, wrote to his Facebook friends, "All those who knew my father would agree that he would have been embarrassed and uncomfortable with the honour. It is only due to the love and affection that so many people have for him that they insisted the event be named after him." This year's senior nationals are being held in Nagpur and Nandu Natekar, known for his affable, encouraging nature, will be applauding every point from above. Nice touch, MBA.

Songs for freedom

Earlier this week, musician-cum-filmmaker Raoul V Randolf left his home in Versova's Koli village and took a long train ride to SoBo, to park himself in front of the Russian Consulate building there. The reason is that he wanted to perform an original anti-war song at the site, to send a clear message promoting peace in these turbulent times. The track is called Y like this, y like that. The lyrics highlight the futility of the sort of conflict that Russia is engaged in with Ukraine at the moment. The guards outside the consul building were clearly not impressed. "They pushed me and asked me to go to the opposite pavement," Randolf shared, adding that that's exactly what he did before carrying on.

Skirting around gender norms

Mehta poses in a skirt. Pic/Nisha V

We are living in an era where the traditional boundaries that existed between genders is slowly but steadily fading away. Look at the series that influencer Jainil Mehta has started on Instagram. It's called #meninskirts, and involves him wearing the conventionally female garment in different locations like a railway platform and rooftops. "I have seen more comments of love than hate. But there are always a few who don't like it, and make a meme out of it. The trolling does happen, but then you always need a few supporters who back you and I have thousands who support and trust what I am trying to convey," Mehta told this diarist.