04 October,2021 07:10 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Mahila mandal: A group of women await a local at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus over the weekend. Pic/Satej Shinde
Late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was not just a legendary singer, but was also a teacher, an avid traveller, a festival organiser and a visionary. His dynamic personality
is what Dr Kasturi Paigude Rane, a Pune-based vocalist and scholar, has attempted to capture in the book Pandit Bhimsen Joshi - Celebrating His Centenary, which was released last month. It was published by the publications division of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. "It's a tribute to him. I've tried to cover his immense contribution to the field of music, and emphasise on his various roles. He was not only a legendary singer, but was also the most-recorded singer of his time. He taught disciples, and started the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav. He was an artiste with a lot of vision," Dr Rane revealed.
Outstanding development of technological tools in England during the Industrial Revolution led to the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1851. Simultaneously, such exhibitions were happening in Paris, and closer home, in Pune in the 1870s. "The objects that were part of the Pune exhibition were housed at the Mahatma Phule Museum, then called the Lord Reay Museum. At the time, there was a lot of artistic elegance in technological products. They used to call it industrial art. Some of these objects were also displayed at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad City Museum [then, Albert & Victoria Museum]. This provided the impetus for the science museum movement in India," shared Shivaprasad Khened, former director, Nehru Science Centre (NSC) Mumbai. After Independence, there were early efforts by GD Birla, who established a museum in Pilani in 1956, and by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, which resulted in the Birla Industrial & Technological Museum in 1959, he explained.
Khened will discuss this and other interesting nuggets at a virtual talk titled Growth of Science Museums in India: A Historical Perspective, which is part of the 6th Dr Fredie A Mehta and Mrs Keti F Mehta Memorial Programme, organised by the CSMVS and the Museum Society of Mumbai, today. Sign up for a glimpse into how science museums evolved.
A recently instituted organisation called the United Christian Front (UCF) that was formed to foster more Christian participation in politics, and change the prevalent politics-is-touch-me-not notion in the community, received blessings from the highest over the weekend. The UCF members were at the Archbishop's House in Colaba for a meeting with His Eminence, Cardinal Oswald Gracias. UCF convenor advocate Alexander D'Souza said that the Cardinal was told about the objectives of the UCF and he too agreed, stressing that one must be in the system, to clean the system, if need be. The ballot and blessings go together.
After over 15 years at Wasabi by Morimoto at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, chef Parvez Khan hung his chef coat in 2021 when he stepped down as head chef. On October 13, he is set to open Wakai, a Japanese cuisine restaurant that he had conceptualised with Shardul Singh Bayas in February this year. "Wakai is a unique presentation of Japanese cuisine that uses reliable raw and seafood ingredients flown in from source, and uplifts it with local and fresh produce of India. It will bring out grills from the robata, along with sushi and tempura delights," he told us. Think toro tartare, hamachi carpaccio, wasabi corneto and the classic black cod miso. A truly fascinating Japanese culinary invasion, this.
