Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Nimesh Dave

Line pe aaja

That's what a boy might be telling fish at a rivulet in Sanjay Gandhi National in Borivali East.

A fitting tribute

The Indian animation and cartooning industry lost one of its leading lights over the weekend, when Gautam Benegal passed away. Benegal, who was also a filmmaker and social commentator, was known for the A1 Chicken Sope series, in which he took satirical potshots at the country's political situation. Tributes poured in for him from various quarters, including popular illustrator Orijit Sen, who revealed that he had been working on a project with Benegal to get the A1 Chicken Sope series published. Meanwhile, filmmaker Rakesh Sharma shared memories of how he became one of Benegal's first friends in Mumbai when the latter first arrived here 30 years ago. "I can still remember his excitement at landing his first job with Rammohan, veteran animation filmmaker, as also his later frustrations about outdated styles and outmoded templates that were the industry norm at the time," Sharma recalled.

All for Danish

The reverberations of the tragic death of celebrated photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan, were felt across the country, from Mumbai to Kolkata and elsewhere. Photojournalists in the eastern city paid a candle-light tribute to their departed colleague, while in Mumbai, teachers of SoBo's Gurukool School of Art painted Siddiqui's portraits to honour his memory. "Danish came to us at different points, when we did paintings on events like when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle and the shootings in Orlando, US, in 2016. We paid tribute to him because he fought for the country," Prithviraj Kambli, the school's founder, told this diarist.

Gandhi's take on India's history

Some rare books that were printed between the 1920s and '60s went under the hammer recently, fetching almost Rs 15 lakh in total. They included Young India by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a collection of Gandhi's writings on the Independence movement, sold for Rs 1.2 lakh. But the book that commanded the highest price of Rs 2.64 lakh was a copy of Jawaharlal Nehru's Discovery of India (in pic), with the same author's Glimpses of World History selling for Rs 66,000.

"We put this auction together after facing numerous hurdles given the challenges in researching such rare books and antique collectibles," shared Indrajeet Chatterjee, curator of the event organised by Prinseps Auction House.

Inclusive art

With the intent to promote projects associated with disadvantaged Indian communities, art collective Artreach India has put out an open call, inviting applications from artists and artist collectives for their Community Arts Grant of 2021. "This particular project is to support artists who are involved in ongoing community-led initiatives. This year, we've expanded our scope to multiple grants that will support them for up to six months, at least," said director Ita Mehrotra. To apply, send in your applications to ita.artreach@gmail.com.

Relief for theatre artistes

Theatre venues might have been shut for most part of the past year but theatre artistes were busy donning various roles - witnesses, defenders and relief volunteers. A HowlRound for India is a 24-hour marathon conversation on July 20 and 21 where 100 theatrewallahs from over 30 countries will highlight the effect of COVID-19 on the community. It's organised by Frank Hentschker, director of CUNY's Segal Center, Bengaluru playwright Abhishek Majumdar, and Mumbai-based director-producer Tanvi Shah. "Artistes will reflect on their personal and political experiences of the pandemic, and offer their artistic responses. They will pay tribute to the tragic losses borne by the community," said Shah. Speakers from India include Sunil Shanbag, Puja Sarup, Anurupa Roy, and the daughter and nephew of Varavara Rao, among others. Director Savitri Medhatul, who'll translate Sangeet Bari artiste Shakuntala Nagarkar's (in pic) session, shared, "She'll be speaking about how in her lifetime, this is the first time that Sangeet Bari theatres have been shut for so long, how that's affected the art and livelihood, and the social and emotional isolation of artistes."