Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Rane

Love in the time of a pandemic

A maskless couple throw caution to the wind near the Gateway of India in Colaba on Friday.

Ideas for today

Rakshak Kumar

TEDx is a global programme that encourages local, self-organised events that bring people together to share ideas that are worth spreading. One such session is being organised in collaboration with St Xavier's College in Dhobi Talao on Sunday. The theme for it is Unheard, Unknown and Unuttered, and speakers include filmmaker and disabilities expert Rustom Irani, social entrepreneur Avani Singh, fashion stylist Lorraine Gonsalves, mathematician Sagar Shrivastava and scientist Rakshak Kumar.

Lorraine Gonsalves

"We wanted to unearth voices that inspire, that speak the language of grit, compassion and commitment. So, our theme this year is ‘Unheard, Unknown and Unuttered' to bring to the public domain narratives of individuals who chose to not go by the flow but create their own paths to motivate," Dr Pranoti Chirmuley of St Xavier's, who is the event's staff in-charge, told this diarist.

More power to Indian textiles

An installation that displays the Kathiwada style of weaving

India has a rich and diverse heritage of weaving traditions that are spread across the length and breadth of the country. Karkhana Chronicles is an online exhibition that aims to shine a spotlight on the craftspeople who take this legacy forward. It returns for its second edition this weekend, and will feature a series of installations and traditional textiles in collaboration with the royal families of Indore, Kathiwada, Mysuru and Bhavnagar.

The launch will also feature an online panel discussion this Sunday, where speakers including Priyadarshini Raje Scindia of Jai Villas Palace, Maharwal Chaitanya Raj Singh of Jaisalmer Fort and Palace Museum, Akshita M Bhanj Deo of Belgadia Palace and YKC Wadiar of Mysuru Palace, will be in conversation with Mickey Boardman (in pic), editorial director of Paper Magazine. The installations for the exhibition include the Sanyogita saree, a reinterpretation of Maharani Sanyogitaraje Holkar's yellow Maheshwari saree. Talking about the exhibition, Bhanj Deo shared with this diarist, "Karkhana Chronicles II seeks to highlight heritage textile art that is not limited to its positive impact on the environment, but also the exceptional quality and exclusivity in design that comes along with these textiles. Concepts such as circularity that have come into contemporary discourse on sustainability are actually ideas that have organically existed within our traditional production systems for centuries."

Meals for a cause

A volunteer distributes food in Aarey on behalf of The Nazareth Foundation

It's no secret that the curbs in place to tackle rising cases will adversely affect the vulnerable sections of society. To ensure that those who need food and ration don't go hungry, city-based non-profit The Nazareth Foundation has restarted its Covid Lockdown Food Project. Founder Cassandra Nazareth shared that they have also tied up with the citizen-led network Khaana Chahiye to distribute cooked meals. "I can see livelihoods getting severely impacted, especially in pockets of Aarey, SGNP and Madh Island. We are open to donations in cash, cooked food packets as well as rations," she shared. Call 9833250255 or reach out to them at @TheNazarethFoundation to lend them a hand.

Waste not, want not at this cafe

An upcoming eatery that is launching in Dadar is billing itself as the city's first zero-waste café. It's called Nude Food, and co-owner Siddhant Padte told this diarist that given the pandemic, they will start off with deliveries only, where customers will be given the choice for the packaging. They can opt for paper packaging, or they can ask for returnable stainless-steel containers, which they can empty and return immediately when the food arrives, or return it the next day.

"It's the same simple mechanism that happens with dabbas, though this option is there only for those who order directly from the restaurant," Padte shared. He added that they also have their own composting system, and that the menu consists of Mediterranean dishes, sandwiches, hand-tossed pizzas and pastas. They will start taking orders from May 1, though deliveries will be restricted to a three-km radius.

A safe space for the mind

As another lockdown confines everyone to their homes, certain anxieties might start to creep up once again. To create a safe space for people to share these feelings, life coach Mehak Mirza Prabhu has come up with the Secret Gathering, a free secret online session to help people talk about their anxieties and traumas, and try to heal. "I wanted to make a safe space where people can talk about what is troubling them. They need not reveal their identities either," Prabhu told this diarist. "For now, people can drop their email IDs in the comments on my Instagram post and receive an invite. The dates, time and theme will only be disclosed in the invites I send out,"Prabhu added.