Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

My kinda sunblock

A woman seated on Marine Drive promenade uses her dupatta to protect herself from the scorching heat

Just stringin' it

A participant during a previous session

Vadodara string artist Vidur Giri (below) has set out on a pan-India tour with the first-ever batch of art string workshop. With a stop in Andheri on Saturday, followed by a session in Pune on Sunday, he revealed that he has always wanted to host workshops like this in the city. "String art is an art form that doesn't require any skills; anyone can do it. Any kind of creation or art frees you, and relieves you from stress. I keep visiting Mumbai. I really like the respect for art here," he said, adding, "I am not expecting artists at this workshop; I am hoping to see corporates, or anyone who is bored of their monotonous life." Those interested in the three-hour workshop can drop a message on 9104834370.

When Mogambo was on stage

An archival image of Amrish Puri in front of Prithvi Theatre in the 1970s. Pic courtesy/Instagram

If you hear the name Amrish Puri in a conversation, dialogues such as "Jaa Simran jaa, jee le apni zindagi" and "Mogambo khush hua" might pop up in your head. But the prolific actor was versatile on stage as well. At the beginning of his career, Puri worked with leading playwrights such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad.

Ila Arun and Rajit Kapur

Remembering his legacy on his 91st birth anniversary, actor Ila Arun reminisced, "Amrish Puri had a fantastic theatre voice that was explored by Satyadev Dubey. One of their most accomplished works was Andha Yug. He [Puri] did not need a hundred mics around to do justice to the role. He also played Ashwatthama during the run of the play. I recall during Dharamvir Bharati's [playwright of Andha Yug] birth anniversary where Puri read Krishna and I read Gandhari. He had a personality that clicked on stage." Actor Rajit Kapur shared an anecdote of working with him in the 1992 Shyam Benegal film, Suraj ka Satvan Ghoda, "It was my first feature film, and he told me "Beta, tum lambi race ke ghode ho". That stayed with me for a long time and motivated me to work harder."

Her art is London-bound again

A few of Shailee Mehta's artworks in London. Pic courtesy/Tenzing Dakpa

After showcasing her work at her Mumbai studio in Andheri West a few years ago, and then opening her Goa studio virtually for drawing sessions, artist Shailee Mehta (inset) will now host another solo exhibition in London beginning today, till July 29. Titled Mudbath, and presented by indigo+madder, a London-based art gallery, this diarist heard that the series extends into the artist's ideas of female embodiment, wilderness, desire and the ethics of care to examine agency. She shared, "After spending most of my formative years as an artist in London, it feels incredible to exhibit there. It's the largest body of work I've shown at once. I think it brings together a lot of the parallels that exist within my painting practice."

Time to save our common birds

A greater adjutant stork perches itself on a trash pile. Pic courtesy/Asif N Khan

A talk on the emerging threats to Indian birds will be conducted by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) at Hornbill House this evening. It will be hosted by Dr Asad Rahmani, a BNHS governing council member. "While talking about threatened animals is important, the diminishing number of common bird species, particularly grassland birds in India is concerning too. Many reasons contribute to this phenomenon but the city's increasing pollution, rapidly changing landscape, wide use of manja [kite], and rising temperatures have direct effects on birds such as greater adjutants and pipits," he revealed.