Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

The Past and the curious

A traffic police constable peeks inside a vintage car at Kemps Corner on Thursday

Roy's vision in our times

Raja Ram Mohan Roy. PIC/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Carrying the ethos of cultural syncretism, Mumbai Brahmo Samaj is set to celebrate Raja Ram Mohan Roy's 250th birth anniversary on May 22. Like Roy believed and professed, the programme also follows the principles of arise, awake and act. "The organisation is located at Brahmo Mandir which is in Kamla High School, Khar. Not many people might be aware that Brahmoism has a presence across various communities. We meet for cultural functions such as the Magh Utsav that happens every January.

Members of Mumbai Brahmo Samaj at Magh Utsav

The talks aim to inspire people to rise to and act on the condition of our society. The scripts are being penned by economist Dr Kamal Sen," Anusree Bonnerjee, one of the curators of the event, shared with this diarist. She added that there will be recitals of songs by Rabindranath and Jyotindranath Tagore, among other notable writers, and these will also highlight their overall theme.

Let's celebrate our city

A street play being performed as part of the festival. Pic Courtesy/ComplexCity

A city exists for its people and by its people. The Yuva (Youth for Unity and Voluntary Actions) ComplexCity festival will ring in its fourth edition with an open invite to Mumbaikars. Called Sheher Sabka, the festival begins this Sunday with the initiative, Making Mumbai. Roshni Nugehalli, executive director, told this diarist, "ComplexCity presents a series of curated initiatives to bring the city together, and creatively and collaboratively build an inclusive future together." From theatre performances by students across socio-economic backgrounds and inviting youngsters to suggest initiatives for city improvement, to conducting walks and offering a different perspective of the Maximum City, there's something for everyone. For snap-happy Mumbaikars, there is also a photography competition. Participants can submit photos that capture the theme of ‘everyone's city'. Interested folk can send their clicks to learning@yuvaindia.org.

Paint the town red

A dance performance at the festival in 2019

Muse Foundation's Maasika Mahotsav or the Period Festival is back with its fourth edition to celebrate menstruation and address the shame associated with it, which adversely affects the education, work, health and quality of life of menstruators. "It's a shame that in the 21st century, menstruators face oppressive and unscientific practices, non-inclusive infrastructure, non-access to sustainable period products, and period poverty. So, it's important to come together to break these taboos. The festival is a platform that offers this opportunity," Nishant Bangera, founder, Muse Foundation, told this diarist. Initiated by the city-based non-profit, the festival now extends across seven states including Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim and Nepal, as well as Africa, Europe and North America. The week-long celebrations that begin tomorrow will include cultural programmes, performances, games and workshops that will be held across locations such as Ghatkopar, Navi Mumbai and Thane.

A new imprint

Amid the lockdown, the G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture put together imprint, a digital arts and culture magazine. From text to video, the magazine made space for artists to express themselves. And today, the magazine will get its first print version. Edition 01 brings together the works of 26 artists. Ishan Benegal, its editor-in-chief and associate artistic director, G5A, shared that it's been a winding yet wonderful experience. "Working digitally through the pandemic, this tactile expression of the magazine has been even more important and special than I could've imagined. To see the works and physically hold them is something that I'm really excited for contributors, readers and friends to experience," he said. To get your copy, head to g5afoundation.org/store/.

From Ganges to Mekong

Children from a fishing community play in the river in Bengal. Pic Courtesy/ Siddharth Agarwal

Siddharth Agarwal's film, Moving Upstream: Ganga, has been officially selected for the 11th Cambodia International Film Festival, which begins on June 28. The documentary follows Agarwal, who spent nearly a year walking along the river, from Ganga Sagar, West Bengal, to Gangotri, Uttarakhand, as part of a project to chart the course of rivers in India. "I am very excited about the film's selection in Cambodia since the festival will take place in its capital, Phnom Penh, which is on the banks of the Mekong River. Several things that we talk about in the film, such as sand mining, displacements due to dams, and intervention by humans, are also happening on the Mekong. This is destroying the lives of the people around the river. My experience has been overwhelming while making the film and bringing it to the place it is at now. While I may not be able to physically go to the festival, I wish that this enables us to further deepen the solidarity between Indian River organisations and people in the Mekong River basin," he shared with us, hoping that more public screenings would ensure that the film reaches a larger audience.