Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

Divine treat

A believer offers a chapati to a bull on a street in Marine Lines.

Feet of love

Aili Seghetti and Raj Armani

Love stepped in on two feet for a unique intimacy cruise in Mumbai yesterday. Hosted by The Intimacy Curator and USA-based adult store, Besharam, it was an evening of pedicure and massages among other experiences that left its participants with happy feet. Aili Seghetti, founder of The Intimacy Curator shared, "There's a lot of societal shame around desire and pleasure. This event offered a safe and consent-driven space to express their desire." An interesting step in the direction, we say.

Also Read: Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Doll-rice and all things nice

(Left) Barry O'Brien chats with Michelle Phillip (right) with Denzil Smith

Even if you weren't an Anglo-Indian in the audience, there was an "open" offer inviting the rest to be one for the day. These and several other witty repartees by Barry O'Brien filled the air as members of the Mumbai branch of the All India Anglo Indian Association gathered to celebrate the educationist's eponymous debut, The Anglo-Indians: A Portrait of a Community (Aleph) at Christ Church's parish hall in Byculla. The head of the All India Anglo Indian Association was both a storyteller and a historian, taking the community on a nostalgic trip of its origins, their dilemma when India gained Independence, and how they assimilated over time in a session that was moderated by Dr Michelle Phillip, HOD (English), Wilson College; later, Denzil Smith, an Anglo-Indian theatre person and actor, stepped on-stage for a special reading from the book. Earlier, O'Brien won brownie points by saluting the Mumbai branch for being the most "classy and dapper" branch (this, we can vouch for, going by families who came in their ‘Sunday best'). He had the audience in splits, recalling Anglo-Indianisms and their unique banter - both printable and otherwise, their joie-de-vivre and how the likes of Usha Uthup admitted that she would like to be born an Anglo-Indian in her next life. Senior members of the community from Mumbai including Rudolf Woodman, Blossom Lillywhite and Graham Heiden were in attendance. The Christ Church choir ensured that music resonated throughout the hall as the ‘small community with a large heart' made it a night to remember.

It is more than puppetry

The country's first International puppet film festival comprising 21 films from 11 countries - championing the puppet - will begin on January 30 in Delhi. But you can expect more than puppetry, says Anurupa Roy (below) of Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust. She revealed, "The idea struck us as an afterthought to the pandemic. Films about puppets have been made through the ages, but during the pandemic, many creators moved to the digital medium. A huge body of work was produced in those months. So, we thought of celebrating the possible collaboration centred on the intersection of puppetry, filmmaking, animation and stop motion." Roy feels that the festival can help push puppetry beyond the limits of niche art. This fest features workshops, documentaries, storytelling and an exhibition of puppets, too. If you're keen to sign up, head to @katkathapuppetry.

Walk the Mumbai talk

Pic Courtesy/Instagram

Filmmaker Hardik Mehta's social media posts make us notice fleeting moments in the city. A picture clicked by him yesterday features a singer on a Churchgate local train. "A band of bhajan or qawwali-singers are so intrinsic to local trains. My dad used to be part of one such band in the past," Mehta recounted.

He added that a German filmmaker once said that if we walk on foot, the world will reveal itself to us. "And that's best possible using public transport as you can peer into the lives of diverse people through a window without intruding."

A guide to read, share and repeat

If you happen to cross Dombivali East, look out for a columnar entrance made up of books. Savlaram Krida Sankul on Kalyan Road opened its doors to city-based readers yesterday. Organised by Pai's Friends Library, the space is now home to a 10-day book exchange exhibition. And it kicked off with a display of 25,000 pre-owned books. "The drill requires people to bring 10 books that they've already read or don't want to read at all. In exchange, they can pick and take 10 other books from the show. There are no price, genre or language-based restrictions," shared library owner Pundalik Pai. The book festival was inaugurated by Marathi writers Uma Kulkarni and Achyut Godbole.