Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

Neigh! this isn't easy

An equestrian loses control of her horse during the Junior National Equestrian Competition at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse

The sparrow returns to Kalyan

A team member sets up a feeder

Visitors at the Nanasaheb Garden in Kalyan got a bird's eye view of environmentalist Manish Verma's ongoing efforts to bring sparrows back to the city yesterday. An awareness drive including setting up feeders and artificial nests made using coconut fiber organised by Verma at the park concluded with a discussion about the importance of the disappearing species. "Sparrows prefer dense foliage. Kalyan, luckily has a few such spots left. With some help from the citizens, we aim to bring them back in bigger numbers soon," Verma told this diarist.

Saying it with AI

The AI generated artworks by Varun Gupta. PICS COURTESY/INSTAGRAM

AI artist Varun Gupta's newest art series Puppetgarh uses AI to achieve what he believes humans have historically struggled with. And it's not writing complex code, or drafting a document, or creating intricate artworks. It's the simple act of being yourself. "We wear different faces every day. With Puppetgarh, I wanted to show the true face, the one within. It shows the real emotions of people, living in a world that doesn't allow them to be or show who they really are," shared Gupta (right).

The latest layer to the artworks is a mini-series titled Notifications that uses the familiar smartphone notification pop-ups to drive home some hard-hitting truths. ‘Cellular data is turned off/ Now, you can talk to real people' reads one of the artworks, while another that speaks about solitude and loneliness reads ‘Oops! You can't send a friend request to yourself!'. Gupta summarises it for us, "It's an attempt to talk about complicated everyday life emotions. Using notifications seemed apt because we are constantly bombarded by them in today's world."

Erskine was lit

The bust of William Erskine

Recently, when this diarist returned from an exhibition at the Asiatic Society of Mumbai (ASM), the glow of the setting sun had cast a mesmeric spell over life-like statues of famous men that dot the space. Amidst this spectacle, the stately bust of Scottish historian William Erskine (1773-1852), near the spiral staircase on the east exit, nearly missed the eye. On reading up, we learnt that Erskine was the first Secretary of the Literary Society of Bombay (later, the Bombay branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of London, today's ASM). His literary accolades include the translation of Baburnama, and completing the biography of Lord Clive. Next time you're there, look for the man whose contribution sits lightly on his finely sculpted bust.

A different screen

A still from the film Amid the Villus

For cinephiles looking for refreshing alternatives, apart from the on-screen masala plots, Asia Society India Centre's upcoming film festival Parda Faash promises a respite. Developed in collaboration with Film Southasia and Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan Mumbai, the two-day festival starting on April 27, will showcase filmmakers across the subcontinent.

"The curated films and discussions will focus on matters of gender, sexuality, queerness, and the rights of marginalised communities in the subcontinent. These are human stories told by filmmakers who, through their work, have been able to document, archive, celebrate and critique the world around them. We are excited to present them in Mumbai for the first time," Inakshi Sobti (inset), CEO, Asia Society India Centre shared with this diarist.

Mountain melodies

Panflautist Narcisa Baleanu with (right) Das at the performance

The mountains came alive as Alliance Française de Bombay, in association with the Romanian Embassy, hosted a unique performance at the Theosophy Hall last weekend. Initiated by the Rabindranath Tagore Cultural Centre in Romania, the Suflet performance - from the Romanian term ‘suflet' for soul - united the panflute and the Indian bansuri on stage. "We included in the repertoire a variety of styles from Romanian music and tried to connect them to something similar from Indian music. The Romanian tune of doina, for instance, merges effortlessly with the alaap from Indian classical music," shared flautist Bhaskar Das.