Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Raje

Look ma, it's a crow

A pair of home-bound children look bemused by this winged visitor on a rainy day in Mahim.

With Da Vinci as his muse

(From left) The cavallo; Ginerva de Binci; the cavern; Leonardo da Vinci

During his lifetime, Bharat Dalal, a painter of Indian origin, felt a strong connection with Leonardo da Vinci. This inspired a series of six artworks titled The Fossilized Passions of Da Vinci.

And now, Arth Art International in collaboration with Consulate General of India, New York is organising a posthumous retrospective exhibition of the late artist, which also includes a webinar scheduled for later today. Dr Bernadette Escalona-Cooper, the exhibition's curator, shared, "Bharat Dalal utilised a tedious preparation to acquire a thorough inference of each painting."

Our Masterchef

To showcase the rich culinary heritage of the home state, the Directorate of Tourism has announced MaharashtraChe Masterchef, a video recipe contest. Participants can share their recipes that highlight traditional ingredients and cooking techniques, as well as the health benefits of authentic Maharashtrian cuisine. Send your entries before August 11 at maharashtratourism.gov.in

Artificial intelligence meets the arts

Artificial intelligence (AI) and art will go hand-in-hand at Goethe Institut's Super Artistic AI Factory, a contemporary art-based virtual hackathon event to be held in September this year, that has invited artists, coders, designers and other creatives to send their applications before August 6. "It's an attempt that's been happening more frequently, in the recent past, of approaching the area of virtual reality and AI and linking it with contemporary art. It's got more to do with the artistic aspect of it than the technological part, hence the name ‘super artistic'. The idea is to explore AI as a means to create art," said Maureen Gonsalves, cultural director of the institute. The selected projects will be showcased at the International Summer Festival in Hamburg, Germany by AI artist Christoph Faulhaber. To enter, log on to @goetheinstitutbangalore on Instagram.

Fairy-tale ending

Nita Kumar

Set in Lucknow in 1962, Shankar's Fairies is a debut Hindi feature film by director Irfana Majumdar that has been selected for the 74th Locarno Film Festival. It depicts the story of a man called Shankar, blessed with a gift for storytelling, who brings up a police officer's daughter while living away from his own family. The director shared that the film is inspired by her mother - also the writer-producer-production designer - Nita Kumar's childhood memories in her ancestral home.

A still from Shankar's Fairies

"My grandparents lived in a house from the colonial era. They loved beautiful things, good food and socialising. However, the truth about this lifestyle was that it was only possible through the labour of an army of house helps - individuals part of an injustice so deeply embedded that even today it is unquestioned," she added.

Help them to stay afloat

The founders of the shelter have moved the animals into their home

The founders of Panavatha animal shelter in Badlapur call it the first orphanage dedicated solely to handicapped animals. The shelter, which is home to about 70 inhabitants, has been gravely damaged by flooding owing to the recent incessant rains. "As soon as the flooding began, we evacuated all the animals from their sheds and cages into our home. My wife and I built our home near the shelter specially to manage such calamities, since we had lost 22 animals to flooding in 2019.

Although we did our best, we were not able to reach and rescue them in time. At present, we are waiting for the red alert to pass, before we begin rebuilding," founder Ganraj Jain said. Meanwhile, the Jains are transporting these animals to the homes of well-wishers, to keep them safe and dry. While no lives were lost, the shelter is requesting support to help them rebuild and rehabilitate the animals. To contribute, call 9545495051.