Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Look, who's got his back

A young man riding pillion on a scooty sits atop a cane swing chair in Kalanagar, Bandra

Yeh ‘pagalpan' kya hai?

Sadaf Vidha and Vasudha Ramani

A short audio series by the Vashi-based counselling and psychotherapy services collective, Guftagu Therapy (@guftagu.therapy), hopes to offer a new route to approach mental wellness. Therapist Sadaf Vidha, its founder, shared, "The series titled Guftagu ki Gutargoo Chotu Episodes will address some of the basic ideas linked to psychological stability. The series will make people conscious about the intersection of social structures and mental health issues. It will look into the meaning of ‘pagalpan', and shine a light on how people are at times labelled as mad and excluded from society." The series that went live with its first episode yesterday was thought out by Vasudha Ramani from their social media team. Vidha added that they expect the podcast to also be accessed by audiences comfortable with Hindi.

A sea of possibilities

A speculative vision of Ajit Bhattacharjea's Car-Free Bombay of 1973 from Bombay Imagined. Erstwhile streets like Tulsi Pipe Road were to be transformed into parks, with only one lane for buses. Pic courtesy/GRAU Visuals

With 200 unrealised visions of Mumbai, Robert Stephens' book Bombay Imagined: An Illustrated History of the Unbuilt City is a visual treat. The architect and author will host an in-person lecture at IF.BE on July 15. It will be an intense illustrated talk that will present radically sustainable plans from the city's unbuilt past, and highlight projects that would have sculpted a climate-resilient Mumbai.

He shared with this diarist, "I will talk about a number of recycling plans to reuse existing infrastructure for pedestrian mobility and expanded public green spaces. Because of Mumbai's constricted landmass, there have been and continue to be great opportunities to recycle urban land and urban infrastructure. The venue, IF.BE [an old ice factory], reaffirms that urban recycling is possible and inspiring." The talk will explore the recycling of what the city already has, and the utilisation of minimal natural resources to create new urban conditions. He continued, "If realised, many plans would have put the island city at the forefront of local and global movements to more sustainable use of natural resources."

Going vernacular

The Bodmas Rule, an acronym to remember order in computation, might confuse a student who attends a vernacular school for their elementary education. Advocate Zubair Azmi, director of Urdu Markaz, told us, "For a long time, I knew only zuzafiya akal - the Urdu byword for Bodmas." The recent introduction of bilingual texts by Balbharti is thus a welcome move. "Children learn best when they can connect concepts to words and phrases in their mother tongue. The new education policy will support kids whose primary medium of learning is either Hindi or Marathi. The textbooks will carry a glossary of important words in English, and slowly enable them in a third language," he explained.

Invoking Vitthal

July marks the beginning of Ashad. It marks spiritual joy for those who celebrate Ashadi Ekadashi. Performing arts group Pancham Nishad has been celebrating Ashadi Ekadashi for 16 years by hosting pan-India concerts on Bolava Vitthal. This year, they will tour nine cities with artistes such as Jayateerth Mevundi (in pic), Anand Bhate and Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande. Singer Mevundi told us, "I will sing abhangas, along with some of my compositions, and a Kannada bhajan. Pancham Nishad is the only organisation across the country that conducts such concerts beyond Maharashtra. It is always an overwhelming sight to see so many people showing up for a spiritual session." The concert in Mumbai will be held at Shanmukhananda Hall on July 10.

As right as rain

Marine Lines by Kadav. PIC COURTESY/ANIRUDH KADAV

You can't romance Mumbai without the rains. Artist Anirudh Kadav (@anirudh_kadav99) hails the return of the season in an artwork that depicts people jogging, lazing, gazing and clicking away at Marine Drive as it pours.

Kadav told us that the piece was imagined during the pandemic when people were missing out on community experiences of seasons, beaches, parks and railway stations.