Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Her safe perch

A girl leans on the bicycle rider's shoulders while standing on his bicycle on the way to school at Dockyard Road.

Sci-fi high

A moment from Pantheon's trailer. Pic Courtesy/Youtube

Vasai-born animator Gaurav Wakankar (inset) shared the news of being part of the AMC animated series, Pantheon. Based on Ken Liu's stories, the sci-fi series has created a buzz among fans since its release in September. "I was involved as a 2D revisionist, keeping a track of the animation process, or lapses that might show," he revealed.

Quite a task in a project that had some heavyweight names like the late William Hurt, Paul Dano, Aaron Eckhart and Daniel Dae Kim in the mix. Wakankar told us, "We were working on the project around the same time that Matt Reeves' The Batman released, and people were in awe of Paul Dano. It felt good to be part of such an on-screen title," he told this diarist.

Canvas for femininity

Wall art by Avantika Mathur

Artist Avantika Mathur will bring the fierce feminine to life with a wall art at KKR Road, Turbhe, in association with the NGO Sahasee embers and some unique volunteers. "Being an artist, I use art activism as a tool as I believe it is the best way to get us to talk," she said.

Starting Sunday, Mathur will work on a wall art project that depicts ‘feline grace' and the ‘divine feminity' with a helping hand from sex workers and their children. "Whenever they pass by the wall, I hope it will be a reassuring symbol of what they possess within."

A Divine birthday celebration

Vivian Fernandes aka Divine. Pic Courtesy/Instagram@vivianakadivine

Walk into Marol's Bharat Van on Sunday, and you might be greeted by a vision of Mumbai's hip-hop community in full flow. The suburban park will become the venue for rappers and hip-hop enthusiasts celebrating the birthday of one of their very own - Vivian Fernandes aka Divine. Organised by the rapper's fan pages, including @divine.fans, the celebrations will take place on October 2. Beatboxer and organiser Tasheer Khan told us, "The event is being held in Marol, since the neighbourhood's pin code often features in Divine's verses."

A previous cypher at the Marol Art Village

The fan page admin and a fan of the rapper's journey, Sahil Ahmed, added that they hoped to promote hip-hop culture, while celebrating Divine. For those interested in testing their skills, the gathering will host a bars contest - a couplet of two lines is termed a bar in hip-hop terminology - and quizzes with prizes to be won. "It is a pay as you please event," Ahmed added, "There is no entry fee. The main motive is to spread the art form and to allow people to witness it." While Divine might be busy at his own birthday, this is just as good a party.

Sandhu turns back several clocks

Balvinder Singh Sandhu at the Mid-Day office. Pic/Atul Kamble

Balvinder Singh Sandhu, who claimed the first West Indies wicket in that unforgettable 1983 World Cup final, was at our office the other day as a guest on the mid-day's Mumbai Cricket Podcast by sports editor Clayton Murzello. Before the recording, Ballu, as he is affectionately called, spent a while in the sports department, turning back the clock by leafing through old photographs of him from our archives. More nostalgia flowed at the recording. Do listen to the podcast on www.mid-day.com.

Send me a postcard

A postcard of the Sir JJ Hospital on display. Pic Courtesy/Rajan Jayakar

What do Millennials and Gen-Zers have in common? An aversion to phone calls. This is why a revival of postcard writing could be successful. No better day to do this than on World Postcard Day today.

The Mumbai Research Centre of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai and ATLASkeeda will be hosting an all-day event at Durbar Hall comprising a postcard design workshop, and a visual presentation titled To Bombay With Love, by advocate Rajan Jayakar (inset) who will showcase his personal collection of city postcards from 1898 to 1914. "We'll head to the post office next to the Asiatic Society building, so attendees can post their designs, too," shares Dr Shehernaz Nalwalla, chairperson, Mumbai Research Centre.